Vancouver Rape Relief says $20 million not enough to help sex workers leave prostitution
Earlier this week, the federal government announced a $20-million fund to help sex workers leave their trade.
Spread over five years, the money is part of the new prostitution laws that take effect on Saturday (December 6). It is available to nonprofits and government institutions, including law enforcement agencies.
Canada’s oldest rape crisis centre isn’t going to put in an application for what a spokesperson described as a “symbolic gesture from the government”.
According to Hilla Kerner of the Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter, $20 million over five years is not a lot.
“If we want to really offer women more than prostitution, we have to do that by offering comprehensive services and comprehensive support,” Kerner told the Straight in a phone interview.
She said that these include housing, child care, employment, and services relating to mental health and addictions.
“Without support, women stay trapped. They stay stuck in prostitution,” Kerner said.
Rape Relief considers prostitution to be a form of male violence.
Violence against women is the main focus of an event being organized by the group this Saturday at the central branch of the Vancouver Public Library (350 West Georgia Street) to commemorate the 1989 Montreal massacre. The tragedy happened when Marc Lépine walked into an engineering class at the École Polytechnique de Montréal with a rifle and went on a rampage.
“At this all-day event, we will remember the 14 female students that were killed by Lépine, the 12 women who were killed this year in British Columbia by their husbands, and 1,200 missing and murdered Aboriginal women,” Rape Relief states in a media release.
The release adds: “Through the day, we will discuss recent public cases like Ghomeshi, Bill Cosby and the Liberal MPs on the public discourse, Sexual Assault on Campus and the meaning of Consent, Police response to Women Victims of Men’s Violence, BC failure to address Women’s and Children’s Poverty, the death of Lucia Vega Jimenez while in CBSA custody, the trial of local pimp Moazami, the new prostitution law and more.”
Comments
9 Comments
Never Enough
Dec 4, 2014 at 7:09pm
VRR is a highly politicized feminist organization.
OF COURSE $20 MILLION IS NOT ENOUGH!
For that matter, IT NEVER WILL BE!
Violence
Dec 5, 2014 at 10:59am
Odd how it is OK to use violence to tax people in order to prevent rape. I guess it is OK to forcibly dominate people, as long as you get something you want out of it. Pot, meet kettle!
wow
Dec 5, 2014 at 12:43pm
The release adds: “Through the day, we will discuss recent public cases like Ghomeshi, Bill Cosby ... the death of Lucia Vega Jimenez while in CBSA custody, the trial of local pimp Moazami, the new prostitution law and more.”
Sounds like a smorgasbord of man bashing. i hope they attempt to come up with actual solutions instead of just the usual squawking.
Finally, why would the suicide of an illegal immigrant be included in an event to commemorate the 1989 massacre??
bizarre and pointless.
Ronnie Lonnie Ding Dong
Dec 5, 2014 at 10:53pm
Oh angry internet man, when will you realize that your severe rage over the words and ideas expressed by feminists is ironically exemplary of why VRR exists in the first place? Ever heard of sticks and stones, you poor, poor, victimized men? Honestly, the best part of the pseudo-equality we have today is that the gendered expectation of society that men be gentlemen has been abandoned first by the whiniest, bitchiest, most unsympathetic men for whom it was such a burden. What this means is that women can avoid bad relationships far more easily, and they do, and of course it is far less of a stigma to get a divorce, which is excellent for women as well. The fallout, however, is that we have this men's rights bullshit and a whole lot of anonymous chatter online from the many husbands of Pamela Handerson, except for when they're visiting the sex workers who VRR is trying to help exit the industry. Oh no, now they're going after the trafficked, exploited women we use as masturbatory aids in exchange for money? Battle stations, battle stations wah wah wah!
dear Ronnie...
Dec 6, 2014 at 2:00pm
you are a classic example of "squawking angry feminist". stop it, you aren't helping.
Martin Dunphy
Dec 6, 2014 at 2:05pm
@dear:
Thanks for showing restraint and writing <em>squawking</em> instead of <em>shrill</em> or <em>strident</em>.
@martin
Dec 6, 2014 at 3:04pm
thanks for being the resident misery in the comment section. you're always right. happy now? :) kidding.
Ronnie Lonnie Ding Dong
Dec 6, 2014 at 3:23pm
@dear
I'll help you. Here's the truth about you:
If you can't deal with women in the age of feminism, then you wouldn't have been able to deal with them before that. Your problem is not feminism. You are the problem. You lack the ability to respect and form meaningful relationships with women. You probably lack empathy too, which is also why you're trolling right now. When you lack empathy, then you can't know what love really feels like, and love is the greatest high you can ever feel. You might be jealous that you're missing out on that.
You might want to work on all that.
@ronnie
Dec 7, 2014 at 11:18pm
thank you for all your brilliant insights and insults.
I actually did take time this weekend to remember those lives that were lost in 1989 - and all countless others since then, and I hope you did too between your fits of online commentary rage.
My original point was that it doesn't help to just talk about the problems in society - but that we need to come up with tangible solutions.
that is all.