Many 2S/LGBTQ+ people do sex work, in part because it can be a low barrier, flexible, and high earning means of employment. For some, sex work is also an avenue to explore and affirm their sexual and gender identities.
When it comes to human rights advocacy, movements for sex worker rights and 2S/LGBTQ+ liberation also have a shared history in Canada, responding to related forms of stigma and criminalization (3,4). Yet, as public perception of 2S/LGBTQ+ issues has significantly improved in recent decades, a similar degree of public support has not manifested for sex workers, who face marginalization within and outside 2S/LGBTQ+ communities. Meanwhile, Canada’s current approach to sex work policy impedes sex workers’ ability to work safely, and public services—including healthcare and law enforcement—are ill-equipped to effectively support 2S/LGBTQ+ people and sex workers.
This primer offers an introduction to sex work as it relates to 2S/LGBTQ+ communities in Canada, including background information on sex work legal reform, and unique contextual factors impacting 2S/LGBTQ+ people who do sex work. In publishing this primer, CBRC calls on the Government of Canada to fully decriminalize sex work, in line with recommendations from diverse sex work advocacy groups, the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, the Canadian Public Health Association, and others.
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