FAQs

Learn more about the people WISH serves, the barriers they are facing, and the ways that our programs and services are informed by ongoing conversations with participants.

WISH supports cis and trans women, Two-Spirit, Non-Binary, and gender diverse sex workers.

Program development and delivery at WISH is informed by the needs of street-based sex workers, and everyone accessing services at WISH is invited to provide feedback; this can be done anonymously, through one-to-one conversations with WISH staff, or at monthly meetings of the WISH Advisory Group (WAG).

We know that the particular stigma, barriers and violence that trans, Two-Spirit and Non-Binary sex workers face can be extreme. As an organization committed to inclusion, WISH continues to seek ways to improve service delivery for gender diverse participants.

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Although sex worker communities are highly diverse, there are common terms used globally by people within the sex workers’ rights movement.

Describing sex work as work makes clear that it is not sexual exploitation.

Calling someone a “prostitute” or saying they are “prostituted” suggests that person is unable to make decisions for themselves. Unfortunately, this is the language used in Canadian legislation.

This type of sensationalist, judgemental, and biased language is disempowering — and it adds to the discrimination sex workers face.

By using more accurate terminology, we can all create space for more authentic stories to be shared.

Learn more about the language we use to discuss sex work:

WISH Drop-In Centre Society was originally called W.I.S.H. — Women’s Information Safe Haven — and it has always been a place for sex workers to access information and safety.

In 1984, a B.C. Supreme Court injunction pushed sex workers out of the community they had built in Vancouver’s West End. These efforts to force sex workers into the margins have continued for decades, and despite clear evidence that this approach causes immense harm, the same conditions exist today.

WISH participants report facing discrimination when trying to access support or services. Some service delivery organizations are dismissive, or openly hostile, and many are simply not open or available when street-based sex workers need them.

These are just a few of the reasons why it’s so important for street-based sex workers to access safe space, peer support, and programs that meet their specific needs.

Learn more about supporting sex workers:

There are many differences between sex work and trafficking, and understanding those differences is crucial. Unfortunately, they are treated by many anti-trafficking groups as the same thing.

The conflation of sex work with trafficking ignores the rights of the worker and can lead to the assumption that sex workers need to be rescued.

Although anti-trafficking organizations are becoming more common, human trafficking is quite rare, and a very specific offence. Often these groups define sex workers as either independent or victimized, which adds to the misinformation and stigma surrounding sex work

It is important to note that although poor working conditions can and do exist, they do not necessarily indicate trafficking, and when authorities collapse various crimes (such as wage theft or physical abuse) into the category of trafficking, it can wreak havoc on the lives of sex workers, their colleagues, and their loved ones.

Learn more about the differences between sex work and trafficking:

No. Research shows that criminalizing sex work isolates sex workers, pushing them into the shadows.

Harsher regulations around sex work will not improve the situation of the women and gender diverse people who access services at WISH.

The criminalization of sex work makes it extremely difficult, and often dangerous, for sex workers to report crimes to police or seek justice through the court system. This is why WISH collects Bad Date reports and distributes the weekly Red Light Alert. Sharing information about potential dangers is one way sex workers rely on themselves, their peers, and organizations like WISH, to help ensure their safety.

To protect sex workers’ rights, WISH supports decriminalization over abolition.

Since current laws affect the security, liberty, and equality of many sex workers, an alliance of sex worker rights groups called the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform (CASWLR) has launched a constitutional challenge to change sex work-specific criminal offences in Canada. Their recommendations are based on consultations with sex workers, lawyers and government relations consultants.

Learn more about the ongoing legal battle to defend sex worker rights in Canada:

Illustration by April dela Noche Milne