Open letter to Minister of Women re: sex workers in the COVID-19 response

Via the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network 

Dear National Partners:

I am reaching out to invite your organization to endorse a joint open letter to Minister of Women and Gender Equality Maryam Monsef, calling on her to include sex workers in the COVID-19 response. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, one of the allied group members of the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform, has signed. [PAN has also signed this letter.] The letter is accessible at this link.

Many sex workers have had to abruptly cease their work to comply with physical distancing regulations. But because of the precarious and criminalized nature of sex work, many sex workers are not eligible for COVID-related emergency funding like the CERB, and most sex workers are fearful of interacting with government officials because their work is criminalized, stigmatized, and marginalized.

For this government to truly centre human rights in its response to the pandemic, it must ensure that all people in Canada have equal access to income supports. Canada’s response must include low-barrier, accessible income supports for sex workers.

21 organizations originally signed the letter and it was submitted to government on May 22nd. Alliance members and allies subsequently met with government officials, and it is clear that they continue to shirk their responsibility to provide supports to sex workers. That is why they are now making the letter public on Amnesty International’s website, and calling on organizations like yours to endorse the letter.

To endorse the letter, please email Jackie Hansen at [email protected] any time before June 22 (and sooner if possible!). You do not need to send your organization’s logo. This letter is open to organizations, but not to individuals, to endorse.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Jackie Hansen at email address noted above.