12th Annual Decolonizing Conference
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Canada
November 9-11, 2023
I spoke at the 12th Annual Decolonizing Conference 'Speaking Out and Speaking Up' in Fugitive Spaces: Fascism Resurgence, Logics of Dehumanization and Anti-Colonial Praxis on November 9-11, 2023 at OISE Toronto, Canada. I was very excited to be presenting a paper that spoke to dismantling barriers in public policy against marginalized individuals, predominantly women, participating in the market economy.
The Decolonizing Conference invites critical thinking on such pivotal topics as Inclusion and Belonging through the lens of race, gender, coloniality and Indigeneity. Social justice and basic human rights are redefined when studied in the context of equity and decolonization. This conference will take a deep dive into such areas as language, culture, labour and education as it pertains to feminism, queerness, anti-neoliberalism, etc.
For many years now, I have been an advocate for the full decriminalization of sex work in Canada. While New Zealand and New South Wales, Australia are prime examples of the success of the decriminalized model of the sex work industry, Canada still follows the 'Nordic Model', which supports the assumption that all sex work must be eliminated because sex workers did not choose their profession. While sex workers themselves are not criminalized, everyone involved with sex workers are, including dependents.
My paper, "Sustainable Community Development for the Sex Work Industry", seeks to answer the research question of whether it is possible to create a sustainable community environment where non-immigrant sex workers can feel a sense of safety and belonging, and where temporary resident sex workers can operate without fear of deportation. Using the theoretical framework of social capital according to Williams et al. (2021) and a modified version of the Tripartite Model as proposed by Bhatta (2017), this paper addresses many of the intersectionalities that exist in the sex work industry, including gender justice, racial discrimination, and marginalization of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.