Sagittarius
An email sent out by www.orato.com editorial staff ended up in my inbox. It was an invitation for sex trade workers with a passion for writing to an internship covering the Pickton Trial. I was so impressed with the invite, I blogged it in its entirety and passed it on to those I hope it may be of interest to.
I surfed the site to see what www.orato.com has to offer when I stumbled across an article written by Citizen Correspondent Steve Sanborn called Careers And Other Choices: The Reality Of Prostitution. (Citizen Correspondent Sanborn also received the email invitation). From all appearances, he was as equally moved as I, albeit in the opposite direction. I was compelled to write in to try and dispel some of the misinformation Mr. Sanborn shared with your readership on December 29th 2006. Specifically these two sentences:
"Prostitution is a crime, not a career."
"Prostitution hurts women and children and foments abortions, spreads disease and most importantly, offends God."
Prostitution is not a crime. Mr. Sanborn's ignorance of the legality of prostitution in Canada is easily understandable - He did, after all, write his article from Kansas. He magnanimously admits he knows very little about the Pickton case in saying, "I am from Kansas City, Missouri, so I am not too aware of the details of the trial, other than Mr. Pickton is apparently the murderer."
Demonstrating for a second time in so many paragraphs, his ignorance of Canadian law and our preservation of the promise, "Innocent until proven guilty."
I recognize Steve is not alone in his misconceptions about prostitution in Canada, or his certainty that Willie Pickton is indeed the bona fide murderer and serial killer of dozens of women from the Downtown Eastside.
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I append a quote from a
By leedictu, January 14, 2007 at 08:42I append a quote from a website'Trial and Ascension'
"Whores have been used throughout time and at one time were a priestess driven order. Yes, it was religeous.(sic) The Temples of Ishtar sold their services to men for a donation to calm the male anima and reduce their aggressive nature... later on when the Temple of Ishtar was absorbed into Greek culture it became the Temple of Aphrodite. Also curbing the male anima by having its Temples in seaside cities. Since almost all of the major actions went by water back then. General Hooker used them in the civil war to stave off moral loss... they became known as Hooker's girls... aka Hookers. Why do I tell you these things.. because I know you have your preconceived notions about this but a little insight may allow you to understand these women who are not forced into it are just doing what the rest of the world is doing. Making a living."
Are there any statistics comparing the incidence of sex-murders, rape, sex-slave-trade occurrences, spousal assaults in countries/states where brothels are legal with similar cases in the general public? My guess is the legalisation of brothels would minimise, if not do away with, much of these horrible practices.
Greetings Hazel, Your story
By Raymond Williams, January 12, 2007 at 17:06Greetings Hazel,
Your story sheds light on subject matter diffcult for many. Perhaps Mr.Sanborn could stand to use his resources at hand, in researching his topic before commenting. But it is all about education I believe, and hope everyone is about to hear, what they will when this trial begins, strength and understanding. Prayers are kept in mind for everyone involved in the Pickton trail. It will be needed. I look forward in reading more of your submissions.
Raymond Williams