Several anti-human trafficking groups have joined together to organize a protest rally against the recent decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal to change the legal position of sex workers. The decision allows sex workers to work from home, from brothels and to hire security to protect them. Human trafficking is a massive problem in ...
Two anti-sex trade laws were ruled unconstitutional Monday by Ontario’s Court of Appeals. Three laws were up for review. The two that were struck down banned brothels and making a living off of prostitution. The law prohibiting sex workers from communicating with clients in public was upheld. The reason these laws were changed is just ...
Canada’s annual Women’s Memorial March brought thousands of people to the streets of Vancouver on Tuesday. The marchers sang and beat drums to remember the more than 600 women who are either missing or murdered in Canada. Among the crowd was Bill Hiscox, a former employee of serial killer Robert Pickton. Hiscox had tried to ...
Vancouver sex-trade workers and their lawyers brought their case to Canada’s Supreme Court on Thursday. They were there to argue the validity of a constitutional change to prostitution laws. Outside the court, other sex-workers and their supporters rallied for the cause. The fight to decriminalize prostitution has been a struggle, but the idea is spreading. ...
Dear Madame X, My friends and I were talking about HIV the other day, and were arguing over the difference between HIV and AIDS. One friend thought people with HIV got AIDS and that it’s a death sentence and another was sure that drugs stopped that from happening. Which of my friends was right? I ...
Women are being disproportionately affected as governments make deep cuts to public service worldwide. In Canada, government cuts are taking away opportunities for change from some of the most disadvantaged women in society. In the UK, a plethora of cuts in local government are chipping away at almost every equality front you can imagine. In ...
All sexually active adults will now be offered an HIV test during all primary care visits in Vancouver and Prince George. The provincial government-funded initiative includes a huge marketing campaign to alert people to the risks of infection and availability of testing. The scheme’s efforts to diagnose 3,500 more people over four years at a ...
After watching movies like Taken and Trade, and reading the real-life details of the ongoing Pickton inquiry, it’s hard to think anyone would be a sex worker voluntarily. We assume that all sex workers are somehow coerced into the trade because a life of selling your body for profit is unimaginable for most of us. But a ...
If you’ve read this headline and are wondering why it is that BC seems to have an unusually high number of serial killers, you might be right. The recent arrest of Cody Legebokoff is set to confirm your suspicions. Legebokoff, a 21 year old man, has been charged with the murders of four women — one as young as 15 ...
Sex workers in Vancouver are being forced to work in isolated areas, putting them at greater risk of sexual violence. Criminologist John Lowman blames the police. At an inquiry into the case of serial killer Robert Pickton, Lowman said the police have long been moving prostitutes into isolated, industrial areas of the city similar to ...
So, we’re having this baby. It’s due in a few weeks and we’re trying to get organized with all...
I recently heard about what is claimed to be the rising phenomenon of Japanese men remaining virgins for longer...
Ladders. Patriarchal conspiracy. I’ll explain… This week I climbed a ladder. I was trying to reach a loft space,...
Dear Madame X, My boyfriend needs to look at porn while we have sex. It bothers me because I...
Mrs. Dalloway is yet another feminist classic that I had to grow into. Wrapped up in Woolf’s instantly recognizable...
Last week saw a Big Thing come to our soggy little island. Well, it was a Big Thing for...
Last weekend I was entertaining a guest, you know, the sort I was planning to have lots and lots...
All little girls want to be princesses… right?! It’s bad enough that toy aisles are separated out by what...
