Olympic Brothel for Vancouver
I think this would actually be a great idea.
Now, Davis and other local sex workers have banded together to establish Canada's first cooperative brothel in an attempt to offer women a safe place to work.
The group, formed by a sex workers' alliance based here, called the British Columbia Coalition of Experiential Women, will incorporate next month and is already setting the groundwork to open the co-op brothel.
Members have begun scouting for a location and are enlisting the backing of local businesses, police and labor organizations.
Faced with the task of cleaning up the city to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver authorities said they are open to the idea.
For the most part, the major problems with the sex trade come as a result of it being pushed into the margins where the women are isolated and vulnerable. And while there are some rumblings about dealing with the pimps and violent johns, the vast majority of legal action and stigma always seems to fall onto the women themselves.
Giving it a legal face and a location where it can be watched and controlled may not do much for the stigma, but it will certainly put a spotlight on and probably curtail the exploitive bastards who are the real issue.
Prostitution itself is legal in Canada. However, since most activities associated with it are not -- such as soliciting sexual services in a public place, operating a bawdy house and living off the avails of prostitution -- the group is planning to appeal to the federal government for an exemption.
Damn, so close. No chance Harper and the Conservatives go for this. Their religious base would go ape-shit. Unless we elect a new government in the near future, it appears as though the ladies of the night will be out of luck.
