Radio Regent: Asian and Migrant Sex Workers’ Rights Are Human Rights

By David Wall (David is a staff at Radio Regent)

In the wake of last week’s horrific murder of eight people in Atlanta-area massage parlors, the plight of Asian and migrant sex workers has come to the fore in an alarming way. The marginalization and extreme vulnerability of such workers has only been heightened during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the number of incidents of anti-Asian violence and racism has continued to rise in both the US and Canada. In fact, the mass murder in Georgia must be seen as a brutal continuation of an alarming trend, rather than an isolated occurrence. According to the Chinese Canadian National Council, 1,150 instances of anti-Asian racist incidents were reported (this number probably a conservative estimate) in Canada during the months of the pandemic. This statistic is especially disturbing, because it represents a greater number of incidents per capita than have been reported south of the border. All of this spells trouble for Asian and migrant sex workers in Canada, who were already in a precarious situation long before the pandemic hit.

Recently, we spoke to Elene Lam, founder and Executive Director of Butterfly, a Toronto-based support network for Asian and migrant sex workers in Canada. She outlined various reasons for the dangers and challenges faced by the community she serves, including racism, misogyny, over-policing, moral panic regarding sex work, language barriers and the difficulties faced by migrants and refugees seeking legal status.  These factors, combined with the heightened anti-Asian sentiments ballooning across North America, have created a brutal and untenable situation for sex workers, who experience discrimination and violence, sometimes leading to death, on a regular basis.

In response to the massacre in Georgia, Butterfly has begun an online campaign entitled “#8CallsforJustice,” which makes a series of eight concrete demands seeking basic human rights and justice for Asian and migrant sex workers. The demands are as follows:

1. Full decriminalization of sex work. One of the major factors leading to the marginalization and victimization of these workers stems from outdated and harmful criminal laws, applied to workers, clients and third parties.

2. Sex work is work. A different understanding of the nature of sex work would lead to a reduction in discrimination and an end to immigration prohibitions on migrants who work in the industry.

3. Rights, not rescue. The use of racial profiling by over-zealous police, working in a rescue/criminal context, must end.

4. Sex work is not trafficking. One prevalent misconception is that sex work is the equivalent of human trafficking or sexual exploitation. This is a reductionist and harmful stereotype.

5. Fight racism. Butterfly is calling for a commitment to education campaigns designed to emphasize intersectionality and equity in the context of sex work in Canada. The situation will not be improved until misogyny, racism, classism and other structural oppressions are defined and dispelled.

6. No cops at workplaces. Misguided notions of trafficking and criminality are used to justify the presence of oppressive law enforcement in places where sex work takes place.
7. Status for all. Migrant sex workers must be given full immigration status immediately.

8. Access without fear. The fulfillment of demand #7 above will guarantee access for sex workers to services, rights and protections offered by all levels of government.

For more information about Butterfly, the work it does on behalf of and in collaboration with the Asian and migrant sex worker community and to support the #8CallsforJustice campaign, visit butterflysw.org.