Sex workers protest prostitution sweeps
Posted Dec 17, 2011 08:56:28 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Around 50 sex workers in Ottawa gathered on Parliament Hill Saturday, to rally for an end to prostitution sweeps.
Local activist group POWER, or Prostitutes of Ottawa-Gatineau Work, Educate and Resist, said the sweeps put prostitutes in danger….
Activists said workers are scared after a recent warning from police about a serial killer targeting sex workers.
POWER said aggressive policing and fear of arrest is forcing prostitutes into dangerous situations.
Spokesperson Fred Chabot said it’s impossible for police to protest sex workers from danger, when they are still conducting regular prostitution sweeps.
“The police recommend to take more time to get in clients’ cars, work in pairs, work in well-lit areas,” she said. “These are not measures that are possible to take when you have police officers out there looking to arrest you if you take them.”
She said prostitutes are going to be more vulnerable to a predator if they’re trying to avoid getting arrested by the police.
