Today is Red Umbrella Day, the International Day to End Violence Against Sеx Workers.

At Sagah, we stand for the labour rights, dignity, and safety of all sex workers. We need decriminalization to protect BIPOC and transfeminine sех workers, who persist while facing the highest rates of violence in our communities.

Sех work and trans histories are intertwined. In so-called Vancouver, street queens created culture, community, opportunity, and autonomy outside systems designed to exclude them. 

Sех workers like Jamie Lee Hamilton, a Two-Spirit, Cree-Métis trans woman and activist, fought together against fines, displacement, and violence on the Davie stroll and in the DTES. Over decades, sех work has remained a means to pay for basic needs and afford access to gender-affirming healthcare.

The violence sех workers face will not end until the government of so-called Canada fully decriminalizes sех work. Sех workers need their work to be recognized and valued by society. It has to start with community-led, trauma-informed labour legislation to protect and uplift all sех workers. 

Actions you can take:

Talk to your local representatives about sех worker rights and decriminalization. You can locate your MP at ourcommons.ca, and find your MLA at leg.bc.ca. 

Get involved and give to the local grassroots and peer-led organizations that support sех workers, like PACE, SWAN, and Kingsway Community Station. You can find donation links in our Linktree.