In , CPHA released a position statement that reviewed the available evidence regarding the public health aspects of sex work in Canada and provided recommendations for effective and meaningful public policy on this issue. PDF : kb. Since that time, there have been significant changes in the evidence-based understanding of how conditions in Canadian law, health care and service agencies and other institutions are contributing to inequitable health outcomes for sex workers in Canada.
Compared to the overall population, sex workers have greater unmet health needs and greater barriers to accessing the components of health and well-being. Four major factors contribute to this marked health inequity:. The purpose of this position statement is to survey current understandings of how these areas of social policy and attitudes contribute to inequitable health outcomes for sex workers in Canada, and to recommend policy measures to address these inequities.
CPHA calls on police and law enforcement agencies to adopt training and robust policy measures to eliminate harassment, violence, stigma and discrimination against sex workers by their personnel, and to ensure that police serve appropriately to protect sex workers from violence and coercion. CPHA calls on professional bodies in health care, mental health, and social service-related fields to require that professional training programs include education about diversity among sex workers, trauma- and violence-sensitive engagement with vulnerable populations, and cultural humility.
CPHA calls on research funding bodies to assess existing gaps and imbalances in research into sex work in Canada, and change funding practices to establish a research agenda that studies the diversity of sex worker populations and health needs, and produces evidence-based policy recommendations and interventions that advance high-quality and accessible health care and social services for sex workers.
Such value-based starting points are important to note when health equity for sex workers is at issue. Their work is highly stigmatized in Canadian society, and is opposed by many religious, social and political groups who advocate for policy approaches that are not centred on promoting the security, health and well-being of persons who undertake sex work as an economic activity.
