Due to the criminal nature of prostitution, sex workers, are put in an adversarial relationship with the police, as a result sex workers, especially street sex workers (as they are often the primary targets of stings, harassment, ticketing, and enforcement), are reluctant to seek the protection of police for fear of being arrested. In turn, police tend to look at sex workers with suspicion and mistrust, even going as far as blaming them for the assault.
- One police officer interviewed in Calgary for a study titled Escort Services in a Border Town told researchers that not responding to sex workers’ complaints was ultimately good for the sex workers be cause experiencing victimization without assistance might lead them to abandon sex work.
In other instances the sex worker reporting an offense has been charged themselves with a prostitution related offense.
- In Toronto a street sex worker who had been beaten over the head with a hammer by a john. When the sex worker went directly to the hospital, the staff called police who came the next day. As soon as the sex worker was released from the hospital the police arrested her for an outstanding warrant relating to a prostitution related offence. (Bad Trick Sheet, Toronto)
Some police officers have been known to assault sex workers, one of the more known cases in Toronto on police brutality on sex workers was a case in 1991 where a police officer known as "Sperm Whale" (a nickname given to police officers with a big build, it’s from a book in the 70's), who was a large, aggressive police officer with violent tendencies. He would often take a sex worker at gun point, force her to give him a blow job and then rob her of her money. One girl was assaulted and robbed by him and then given 30 seconds to run from him. He told her that if he could catch her after the 30 second lead that he would later arrest her. After receiving numerous complaints from sex workers the Special Investigation Unit (the folks who police the police), begun an investigation on the officer but as the unit cited insufficient evidence, the case was dropped.
That same year the SIU probed two other cases against Toronto police officers in relation to complaints against sex workers, one was from a sex worker who claimed that she was sexually assaulted by a Sargent named Brian Whitehead, that case resulted in Brian Whitehead being demoted to constable. In the other case, an officer named Gordon Jungar was investigated on claims he was running an escort agency, Jungar ended up resigning from the Toronto Police force.
Other reasons why a sex worker may not want to go to police to report a crime may include:
- fear of child protective services (CAS) becoming involved. Please note: CAS has been known to take away the children of parents who work in the sex industry.
- Having to ‘out’ themselves as a sex worker. Many sex workers are afraid to identify themselves as a sex worker or a person who has engaged in sex work due to fear of judgement and stigma.
- Sex workers being so heavily stigmatized by society that they themselves actually believe it was their fault for the assault.
- If the sex worker is not a Canadian Citizen their could be worries about immigration and deportation.
Because of reasons like these the Toronto Police claim that only 2% of assaults against sex workers ever make it to their attention. In an effort to close the gap between sex workers and police, the Toronto Police Sex Crimes Unit in April 2005 launched an Anonymous Sex Worker Tip Line, which gives sex workers the opportunity to proved the police with information on a major crime (i.e. Rape, assault, robbery, confinement, etc.), without the sex worker having to reveal his or her identity. When the sex worker calls the line, the sex worker is asked to leave a message on the answering machine with the following information (name - if known, physical build, tattoo’s, ethnicity, hair colour etc.), vehicle description (license plate number, colour, make and model), city, location and date of the event. All information is stored in a data base and could be used to provide the missing link needed in identifying a serial predator, already the police have been able to take some dangerous offenders off the street thanks in part to this line. If the sex worker WANTS to make a report in person he or she can leave their contact information and a police officer sensitive to the needs of sex workers will contact them back.
bravenet.com