Sex Work in Calgary: Laws, Safety, Support & Realities

The topic of sex work in Calgary, often searched using terms like “prostitutes Calgary,” encompasses a complex web of legal frameworks, social issues, personal safety, public health, and community resources. It’s crucial to approach this subject with factual accuracy, sensitivity to the diverse experiences of individuals involved, and a clear understanding of the law. This article aims to provide comprehensive information addressing common questions and concerns, focusing on legal realities, safety practices, available support systems, and the broader societal context within Calgary.

Is Sex Work Legal in Calgary?

Short Answer: While selling sexual services itself is not illegal in Canada under federal law, nearly all activities surrounding it are criminalized, creating significant risks for sex workers in Calgary.

The legal landscape is defined by the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA), enacted in 2014. This law maintains the criminalization of activities like:

• Purchasing sexual services (Johns/Buyers): It is illegal to pay for, or attempt to pay for, sexual services. Penalties can include fines and jail time.

What specific activities related to sex work are illegal?

Short Answer: Key illegal activities include communicating in public places for the purpose of prostitution, operating or being found in a bawdy-house, living on the avails of prostitution (particularly exploiting others), and procuring.

Beyond purchasing, PCEPA specifically targets:

• Communicating in Public Places for the Purpose of Prostitution: This makes it difficult for workers to screen clients safely outdoors, pushing interactions into more hidden and potentially dangerous settings. Enforcement of this provision often disproportionately impacts street-based workers.
• Bawdy-House Offences: Keeping or being found in a “common bawdy-house” (a place used for prostitution) is illegal. This criminalizes indoor workspaces, making it harder for workers to operate collectively for safety or to secure stable, private locations.
• Procuring (“Pimping”): Procuring someone to provide sexual services for another person, or living on the avails of prostitution of another person, is illegal. While intended to target exploitation, the “living on the avails” provision can sometimes criminalize non-exploitative relationships where a sex worker shares income with a partner or roommate.
• Advertising Sexual Services: While the constitutionality of this specific provision has been challenged, advertising sexual services remains largely restricted and risky.

This legal framework, often termed the “Nordic Model,” aims to reduce demand by criminalizing buyers and third parties, theoretically decriminalizing the seller. However, in practice, it creates hazardous conditions for sex workers by forcing their work underground, limiting their ability to negotiate terms, screen clients effectively, work indoors safely, or access police protection without fear of arrest for related offences.

How Can Sex Workers Stay Safe in Calgary?

Short Answer: Despite legal barriers, sex workers employ various harm reduction strategies including thorough client screening, buddy systems, using indoor spaces when possible, carrying safety devices, negotiating clear boundaries, and utilizing community support services.

Safety is a paramount concern due to the criminalized environment and stigma. Common strategies include:

• Client Screening: Gathering information before meeting (e.g., through references from other workers, online screening tools where possible, verifying phone numbers). The illegality of communicating in public makes initial contact and screening particularly challenging for street-based work.
• Buddy Systems/Check-Ins: Informing a trusted friend or colleague (another worker) about appointments, client details, location, and expected return time, with pre-arranged check-in calls or messages.
• Safer Indoor Work: Working indoors is generally safer than street-based work. However, the bawdy-house law prevents renting spaces specifically for sex work or working collectively, forcing many into isolated situations.
• Condom Use and STBBI Prevention: Consistent and correct condom and barrier use for all sexual acts is critical. Accessing regular STBBI testing through clinics like the Safeworks Harm Reduction Program is vital.
• Negotiation and Boundaries: Clearly communicating services, limits, and condom use expectations before meeting and upon arrival.

What health resources are available for sex workers in Calgary?

Short Answer: Calgary offers specialized, non-judgmental health services through programs like Safeworks Harm Reduction Program (Alberta Health Services), The Alex Community Health Centre, and CUPS Calgary, providing STBBI testing, treatment, naloxone kits, counselling, and support.

Key resources include:

• Safeworks Harm Reduction Program (AHS): Provides confidential STBBI testing and treatment, hepatitis A/B vaccines, naloxone kits and training, safer drug use supplies, counselling, and connections to other services. They operate on a non-judgmental, sex-worker-positive model.
• The Alex Community Health Centre: Offers comprehensive primary healthcare, mental health support, addiction services, and outreach programs, often tailored to marginalized populations including sex workers.
• CUPS Calgary (Calgary Urban Project Society): Provides integrated healthcare, housing support, and education programs, recognizing the complex needs of individuals facing poverty and stigma.
• Street Sisters / SORCe (Safe Communities Opportunity & Resource Centre): While SORCe closed its physical location, outreach services continue. Street Sisters and other outreach organizations provide essential supplies, information, and connection to health and social services directly to vulnerable populations on the street.

These services prioritize confidentiality and work to build trust within the community.

Where Can Sex Workers Find Support and Exit Resources in Calgary?

Short Answer: Organizations like the Elizabeth Fry Society of Calgary, the Centre for Sexuality, and Hull Services offer specialized support, counselling, legal advocacy, housing assistance, and exit programs for individuals wanting to leave sex work.

Navigating the challenges often requires specialized support:

• The Elizabeth Fry Society of Calgary: Focuses on women and gender-diverse individuals involved with or at risk of involvement in the justice system. They offer court support, counselling, housing assistance, employment programs, and specific support for those involved in sex work, including exit strategies.
• The Centre for Sexuality: Provides education, counselling, and support related to sexual health, gender identity, and healthy relationships. They offer inclusive, non-judgmental services that can be valuable for sex workers.
• Hull Services: While broadly focused on children, youth, and families facing challenges, they have programs supporting vulnerable youth who may be at risk of or involved in exploitation, including pathways out.
• Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse (CCASA): Offers specialized trauma counselling and support for survivors of sexual violence, which disproportionately impacts sex workers.
• Income Support & Housing Programs (Alberta Works): Accessing stable income and housing is often a critical factor for those seeking to exit. Navigating these systems can be complex, and support agencies can assist.

“Exit” programs are complex and must be voluntary and centered on the individual’s needs and goals, offering genuine alternatives and long-term support.

What are the Realities of the Sex Work Community in Calgary?

Short Answer: Calgary’s sex work community is diverse, encompassing street-based work, independent online escorts, agency workers, and survival sex workers, facing significant challenges due to criminalization, stigma, economic vulnerability, and risks of violence and exploitation.

The community is not monolithic. Key aspects include:

• Diversity: Workers include individuals of all genders, sexual orientations, ages, ethnicities, and immigration statuses. Motivations range from economic necessity (“survival sex work”) to chosen profession.
• Modes of Work:
  • Street-Based: Most visible, often most vulnerable to violence, police interactions, and weather. Concentrated in certain areas (e.g., historically along Centre St N, East Village).
  • Independent Online: Use websites and social media for advertising and screening (though legally precarious). Often operate from private incalls or outcalls.
  • Agencies: Some workers operate through agencies that handle bookings and screening, though this can create power dynamics and legal risks for the agency operator.
• Key Challenges:
  • Violence: High risk of physical and sexual assault from clients, exacerbated by criminalization hindering reporting.
  • Stigma & Discrimination: Profound social stigma affecting access to housing, healthcare, employment, and social services.
  • Exploitation: Vulnerability to exploitation by third parties, traffickers, and unscrupulous clients, particularly for those facing homelessness, addiction, or precarious immigration status.
  • Barriers to Justice: Fear of arrest or police distrust often prevents reporting crimes committed against them.
  • Economic Instability: Income can be unpredictable, and savings difficult due to lack of benefits, job security, or access to traditional banking/loans.

How does law enforcement interact with sex workers in Calgary?

Short Answer: Police primarily enforce laws targeting buyers, communication in public, and bawdy-houses. Enforcement priorities can shift, and interactions are often complicated by mistrust stemming from historical criminalization and stigma.

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) focuses enforcement on:

• Targeting Buyers (Johns): Conducting sting operations to apprehend individuals seeking to purchase sex.
• Addressing Public Communication: Enforcing the law against communicating in public for the purpose of prostitution, primarily impacting street-based workers.
• Investigating Exploitation and Trafficking: CPS has units dedicated to investigating human trafficking and exploitation, aiming to identify and support victims while targeting traffickers.

However, the relationship between sex workers and police is often strained. Many workers fear reporting violence or exploitation to police due to:

• Past negative experiences or arrests (themselves or peers).
• Fear of being charged with related offences (e.g., bawdy-house if reporting an assault in their workplace).
• Stigma and not being believed or taken seriously.
• Concerns about confidentiality or police sharing information with other agencies (e.g., child welfare).

CPS has stated intentions to prioritize the safety of sex workers as victims when they report crimes, but building trust within the community remains an ongoing challenge.

What Harm Reduction Approaches Are Used in Calgary?

Short Answer: Harm reduction in Calgary focuses on practical strategies to minimize risks associated with sex work and substance use, including access to naloxone, safer sex supplies, overdose prevention sites, non-judgmental healthcare, and peer support, without requiring cessation of work or drug use.

Recognizing the realities of criminalization and the diverse reasons people engage in sex work, harm reduction aims to keep people alive and as safe as possible. Key elements include:

• Naloxone Distribution & Training: Widespread availability of free naloxone kits and training through pharmacies, Safeworks, and community organizations to reverse opioid overdoses.
• Safer Consumption Services (SCS) & Overdose Prevention Site (OPS): Supervised sites like the one operated by Safeworks (previously at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre) provide a safe space to use pre-obtained drugs under medical supervision, preventing fatal overdoses and connecting people to health and social services.
• Safer Sex & Drug Use Supplies: Free distribution of condoms, lubricant, sterile needles, pipes, and other supplies to prevent STBBIs and infections related to drug use.
• Peer Support & Outreach: Programs employing current or former sex workers to provide support, information, supplies, and advocacy directly to the community, building trust and understanding.
• Trauma-Informed Care: Healthcare and social services recognizing the high prevalence of trauma among sex workers and adapting practices to avoid re-traumatization.

Harm reduction operates on the principle of meeting people “where they’re at,” respecting autonomy, and reducing the negative consequences associated with sex work and substance use without moral judgment or coercion.

What are the Ethical Debates Surrounding Sex Work in Calgary?

Short Answer: The core ethical debates revolve around legal models (full decriminalization vs. Nordic Model vs. prohibition), whether sex work is inherently exploitative or potentially empowering work, and how best to protect the rights and safety of workers.

These debates are complex and involve diverse perspectives:

• Legal Models Debate:
  • Full Decriminalization (New Zealand Model): Advocates (including many sex worker rights organizations like Maggie’s Toronto) argue that decriminalizing both selling *and* buying sex, and related activities like brothel management (with regulations), is the only way to ensure workers’ safety, rights, and access to justice. They point to the failure of the Nordic Model to eliminate sex work and its documented harms.
  • Nordic Model (Current Canadian Law): Proponents argue it reduces demand, sends a message that buying sex is unacceptable exploitation, and aims to protect sellers by not criminalizing them. Critics argue it ignores worker agency, fails to reduce harm, and makes workers less safe by pushing the industry underground.
  • Full Prohibition: Criminalizing all aspects is widely rejected as the most harmful approach, proven to increase danger without reducing prevalence.
• Exploitation vs. Agency Debate:
  • Sex Work as Inherent Exploitation/VAW: Some feminist and abolitionist perspectives view all sex work as a form of violence against women and exploitation, regardless of consent, often rooted in patriarchal structures and economic inequality. They prioritize exit strategies.
  • Sex Work as Labour: Other perspectives, including many sex worker rights groups, frame sex work as legitimate labour. They emphasize worker agency, consent, and the right to work safely and without stigma. They argue that exploitation arises from criminalization, stigma, and lack of rights, not the work itself.
• Focus on Rights and Safety: The ethical imperative common to many perspectives is the need to prioritize the safety, health, human rights, and autonomy of individuals involved in the sex industry, regardless of the legal model.

These debates significantly influence policy discussions, funding for support services (exit vs. harm reduction), and public perception.

Moving Forward: Understanding and Support

The reality of sex work in Calgary is shaped by complex intersecting factors: federal criminal laws that create danger, pervasive social stigma, economic vulnerability, and the risk of violence and exploitation. Individuals involved navigate a landscape filled with significant challenges.

Understanding the legal framework (PCEPA) is essential, as it defines the risks workers face daily. Access to non-judgmental health services (like Safeworks) and specialized support organizations (like Elizabeth Fry Calgary) is crucial for harm reduction, health maintenance, and accessing pathways to safety or exit for those who choose it.

Addressing the issues requires moving beyond simplistic judgments and recognizing the diversity of experiences within the community. Prioritizing harm reduction strategies that meet people where they are, respecting autonomy while providing accessible resources and support, is vital for saving lives and reducing suffering. Continued advocacy for policy changes based on evidence and the lived experiences of sex workers themselves, particularly regarding the impacts of criminalization, is necessary to create a safer and more just environment for all Calgarians.