Red Umbrella Day: International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

December 17th marks Red Umbrella Day, a day that calls attention to the violence that sex workers face all over the globe. The day commemorates the hate crimes, violence and discrimination that sex workers face, and urges the public to respect the basic human rights of sex workers. The story of violence towards sex workers across Canada, for the most part, goes untold. Violent crimes against sex workers often go unreported, unaddressed and unpunished. Many sex workers may be hesitant to discuss violence due to stigma and judgment from being involved in sex work. Workers may not wish to report bad dates to the police for fear of being criminalized, making their identity known to police or if they have warrants for their arrest.

Violence should not be accepted as part of the job, but yet sex work & violence have become so intertwined that it is almost normalized. This can be seen in commonly heard statements like “what do sex workers expect?” or “if sex workers just stopped working they wouldn’t be hurt.” Such attitudes imply that violence is not only an accepted but inevitable part of sex work and that it is the workers themselves that are to blame. Simply not true! We are all responsible for taking urgent steps to ensure the people involved in the sex industry, our friends, family and community’s, right to safety is addressed.

In recognition of International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, Shift will be hosting a symposium and launching Shift’s Red Umbrella Challenge on December 15 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Calgary Cares Centre. Please join us for an evening of speakers & a panel discussion to address violence against sex work, and explore ways in which we can take steps to increase safety for all those involved in sex work.