Lisa Gibson during a neighbourhood dialogue.

The status quo is not acceptable.

That’s the main message Living In Community (LIC) coordinator Lisa Gibson heard from those who attended LIC’s neighbourhood dialogues across the city, as well as those who attended focus groups or filled out LIC’s online survey, had that common message.

“It is not okay the way things are working right now,” she said. “That is the biggest message we got.”

LIC is a two-year, city-wide project examining issues of sex work in Vancouver. It has just released its action plan, complete with 27 recommendations on addressing the issue.

“It is not okay the way things are working right now. That is the biggest message we got.” Lisa Gibson

Of the 27 recommendations, LIC sees three as key:

• Funding a Living in Community development position to facilitate implementation of the Action Plan, in collaboration with community members, including sex workers, business and government organizations.
• Funding expansion of the Mobile Action Project (MAP) van program to daytime hours to provide a quick response for sex workers and other community members impacted by the sex industry. This would reduce reliance on enforcement and promote health and safety in the community.
• Develop and fund a continuum of safe spaces for individuals at all stages of recovery from addiction, providing appropriate treatment and supports to individuals who wish to exit the sex industry.

LIC grew out of discussions among policing centres, Business Improvement Associations and neighbourhood houses and became a project with a steering committee that also represented sex-work organization, the Vancouver Aboriginal Council, the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Coastal Health.

The neighbourhood dialogues were a way to welcome input from Vancouverites who wanted to respond to the draft report, share their concerns and experiences and suggest ideas for making communities healthier and safer for all people.

Gibson said that the dialogues were not large, generally attracting about 20-30 participants. But there was a good range of ages and people came out to the meetings to express a range of opinions and concerns.

Gibson said LIC has had a lot of support around the project’s process from all levels of government. “We need to see how that translates in terms of funding.”

Participants were concerned about violence against sex workers, the presence of dirty needles and condoms in neighbourhoods, the sexual exploitation of children and youth, poverty, homelessness, addiction, mental health issues, personal safety, stigmatization around sex work and street and indoor sex workers’ health and safety.

Gibson said while there was agreement that the situation is unsafe and must change, there hasn’t been a lot of action by governments. The Parliamentary Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws issued its final report last year but, “it was quite disappointing and did not make any suggestions for change around the law, and that was its mandate.”

Gibson said LIC has had a lot of support around the project’s process from all levels of government. “We need to see how that translates in terms of funding.”

Donald MacPherson, Coordinator of Vancouver’s Drug Policy Program, agreed noting, “there is commitment at the community level; we need to see commitment at the government level now.”

MacPherson said Vancouver is at an historic time with the “Robert William Pickton trial highlighting the issue of missing women and the upcoming Olympics bringing an international focus to Vancouver’s social problems. “The issue of sex workers isn’t going to go away, but there are things we can do in the short term to reduce the harm,” he said. “There is no need for the dire situation and the street level violence to continue.”

He added that government should examine the possibility of setting up safe houses with allocated units for sex workers and measures to help sexually exploited children.

Gibson noted that the health and safety problems experienced by sex workers and by communities have continued unabated throughout the city. “We have the Pickton trial but that doesn’t mean people are no longer being assaulted,” she said. “Nothing has been done, since he was arrested, on this issue.”

The full report is available at www.livingincommunity.ca.