Global Greens Women's Network Webinar
February 21, 2024
I participated on a panel of the Global Greens Women's Network, the last of four featuring gender justice in the four different federations of the Global Greens. This panel, on Gender Justice in the Americas, brought in speakers from Guatemala and Venezuela, as well as myself representing Canada. This was the first webinar of the Global Greens Women's Network of 2024 and there were attendees from all around the world.
My presentation was a more condensed version of the paper on sustainable community development in the sex work industry that I presented at the 12th Annual Decolonizing Conference, with more focus on the ramifications of the Nordic model on sex workers and the justification for decriminalization, and given the audience, removing in large part the theoretical frameworks and academic approaches. The purpose of this panel was more for outreach and advocacy, with many in the audience not having fully considered the concept of consensual sex work.
The purpose of this series of webinars was to focus on advocating gender rights around the world. Beginning on International Women's Day 2023 with a spotlight on gender justice in Africa, the series moved on to the Asia Pacific in the summer and Europe in the fall. Although there are more issues surrounding gender justice in Canada than in the sex work industry, I chose to take the opportunity to foster a better understanding of the industry in general and the harm caused by conflation. This version of my presentation highlighted the aspects of female colonialism and liberal racism that target all sex workers, and im/migrant sex workers in particular. There was also a focus on institutional sexism, discussing the Canadian laws such as the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA), the Combating Human Trafficking Act, and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR).
While I could have spoken more broadly on the concept of gender justice in Canada, I chose to speak more in-depth on sex work, not only because it is my research interest, but also because it very specifically pinpoints the many gaps within Canadian laws and governance as it pertains to gender justice, racial justice, and inequities for im/migrants. With this one topic, I was able to cover a much broader spectrum of social justice issues in Canada as it pertains to policy, the government, law enforcement, and Canadian border services. The purpose for the decriminalization for which I advocate is the first step to healing these rifts so that sex work as a profession is no longer singled out and individuals who are trafficked can receive the same protections no matter what work they engage in.