Red Umbrella Day
Post by: Rachel Newby
On December 17th, red umbrellas are held high everywhere.
What is Red Umbrella Day?
Known as Red Umbrella Day, December 17th is the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Observed by advocates, friends, families, and allies of sex workers, the day calls for an end to violence and hate crimes committed against sex workers worldwide. Additionally, it calls attention to the political and social structures that maintain the stigma, discrimination, and indifference to violence against sex workers. The day is meant to honour those who have passed away from violence while advocating towards health and safety for all sex workers.
Universally, sex workers experience violence, with Indigenous, racialized, transgender, non-binary, immigrant, and disabled sex workers at a greater risk of being targeted with violence. However, sex work itself is not dangerous, it is the way people treat sex workers that makes it dangerous. With sex work either being criminalized or a legal grey area, sex workers are isolated by the lack of meaningful supports present in other workplaces. This includes access to legal, medical, and counselling supports.
Affirming Counselling for Sex Workers
While many sex workers have voiced a need for counselling supports, they often encounter barriers to accessing services or receive inadequate supports. The main barriers are discrimination, shame, and stigma, as well as structural barriers, including financial hurdles. If sex workers manage to access counselling, they often withhold their sex working identity for fear of judgement or the improper assumption that being a sex worker is the problem. Even though counselling can be a healing experience, sex workers can be stigmatized and misunderstood in their encounters with therapists.
A counsellor who is sex worker friendly, may not be sex worker knowledgeable. Being sex worker knowledgeable means understanding the nuances of sex work and how it relates to current legislation, different styles of sex work, local community resources, and terminology at the community level. Sex workers have complex identities and experiences. Understanding the ways sex workers experience their identities in the larger context of other experiences, intersectional identities, and cultures is necessary to provide affirming care.
At Our Landing Place, our intern counsellor, Rachel Newby, is completing her capstone project on the intersection of sex work and disability. Informed by the questions ‘How do existing dominant discourses and societal constructs impact disabled sex workers?’ ‘How do disabled sex workers foster radical resistance and pleasure activism?’ ‘How can counsellor competence be increased for disabled sex workers?’, Rachel aims to draw attention to an often-overlooked intersection of identities, and highlight the inherent resiliency and creativity found within the community.
No matter how much society tries, sex workers are not going anywhere, and they have a right to the same respect and support as everyone else.
