Politics Schmolatiks

Well, I somewhat dropped the ball there in Aug & Sept, and certainly dropped the ball on the blog. In part it was due to a lack of garden activity (other than watering) and in part it was due to my increased involvement in local politics. This is not completely unrelated as the politics involve prostitution issues and if you are familiar with these gardens, you know that there is a strong link between these gardening efforts and prostituted women in the Downtown Eastside.


Between the Pickton trial and the upcoming 2010 Olympics, there is a lot of political will to do something about street prostitution in Vancouver. And, there are several pro-prostitution advocates who are ready to pounce on that. There has been a big push in Vancouver to open several legal brothels. There has also been federal MPs lobbying to decriminalize prostitution completely. 2 groups have launched constitutional challenges against Canada's prostitution laws and if their challenge succeeds, there would be some new legislation on the horizon. If you are interested in finding out more about this, or want to know what you can do to help, click here.

Here is a recent letter published in the Vancouver Sun that lets you know what I'm on about:

It is good to see that someone has finally offered an analysis on the proposed brothels from someone other than Susan Davis! I agree with Mayor Sullivan that despite Davis' intentions most survival prostituted women would not be welcome into the coop brothels--or it would not suit the needs of these women to give a portion of their earnings to the brothel. Brothels have come and gone from the DTES since the Vancouver's inception but their presence did not protect the many women who disappeared from our streets. What concerns me most about the process of opening these particular brothels is the normalization of prostitution in the media, among various levels of government, law enforcement and the public. Societal acceptance of renting women's bodies for the sexual gratification of men will not benefit our most vulnerable women in the long run. In fact, countries that have decriminalized prostitution see a huge expansion of their sex industry, leading to increased human trafficking and child exploitation. In the 70's the Swedish city of Malmo instigated a program that gave prostituted women economic aid including housing, job and medical assistance, counseling, support and protection from pimps. Over a period of 4 years, 72.5% prostituted women in Malmo had quit. Vancouver and Canada for that matter have not given an honest attempt at sustainable solutions. Brothels are not a sustainable solution. In the long run, the acceptance of brothels further entrenches women in exploitation.

For the full article in the Sun, click here