Edmonton's Murdered Women

On Tuesday, the Edmonton Journal's Paula Simons wrote a column about the 16th sex trade worker to be found murdered in the last 20 years. The column started out OK, as Simons correctly pointed out that Edmontonians

"would rather believe in the existence of one bogeyman than accept the horrible notion that there might be a dozen different men out there who think nothing of killing women and discarding their bodies like trash. The bitter truth is that murders like this are frighteningly commonplace."

Unfortunately, Simon's column then veers completely offtrack. She suggests that all of these women were murdered because they were drug addicts. That is, drugs led them to the survival sex trade, which made them vulnerable to a serial killer. This is problematic for several reasons. Instead I argue that it is the conditions of the survival sex trade and women's inequality that is responsible for these deaths, and here's why:

• Simons relies on the stereotype of the drug addict who turns to the survival sex trade to support her habit. While this is may be the case for many woman, not all survival sex trade workers are  drug addicts. Indeed, Simons seems to assume that the other 15 women were addicted to drugs. Moreover, she doesn't mention the possibility that those women who were addicted, turned to drugs because Canada's survival sex trade is so unbearable.
  
  • The illegality of the act of paying for sex in Canada, means that many women are forced to go with johns to places away from the security provided by nearby coworkers and friends. Alleys and isolated rural locales are their necessary places of work. This (and not their addiction, if they have one) makes them the likely target of violence and abuse. Thus, some may turn to drugs to help deal with this reality.
• Simons ignores the root causes of the sex trade in the first place. The survival sex trade  exists because of gender inequality. Some men believe that women are objects or property. This practice is pervasive in our culture and is apparent in the pornography industry, the sexual double standard, and in slurs like c**t.  If their were no demand for the services of sex trade workers, women wouldn't be tempted into selling their bodies for high prices.
• Moreover, women have access to fewer economic opportunities than men and as such, more women than men live in poverty. This discrepancy  is particularly true in Alberta and  particularly true for Aboriginal women, who are drastically overrepresented in Edmonton's sex trade worker body count. In these murders, sexism and racism intersect to amplify vulnerability.
• There are generally more male drug abusers than female ones, but I have yet to hear of a case in Canada where male drug addicts have been stalked by a serial killer. Simons is right that the murders of female sex trade workers are extremely commonplace. But, this is not because of an addictions public health crisis, rather it is symptomatic of a pervasive trend of violence against women in this province and elsewhere.
  
  • The men who murder sex trade workers, spouses,  girlfriends and female acquaintances do so mainly out of a basic lack of respect for women. To them, women are objects or property. As such, they feel entitled to treat them as they see fit. This is clearly evidenced by the widespread incidence of violence against women in Alberta and the disturbing fact that homicide is the number one cause of death for pregnant women (American Journal of Public Health, March 2005).

Thus, it is illogical to refer to drug addiction as a secondary killer of Edmonton's sex trade workers. Addiction is an important issue but it does not inherently produce vulnerability to murder, and it certainly not a necessary factor in the murder of a sex trade worker. As someone with a passion for drug policy, I wholeheartedly agree that the criminalization of drug abusers creates more problems than it solves and that drug law reform would alleviate many of the harms associated with prohibition. But, this discussion is  tangentially related to the murder of innocent women and should not be used to distract from or excuse the broader problem of violence against women and gender inequality in this country, which allows some men to "think nothing of killing women and discarding their bodies like trash."

Comments

[Jewel]

The situation all over Canada (and the world) is so horrible and pervasive and yet, so little reporting is done. And when it is done, it is done poorly with a reliance on age old stereotypes and discrimination. Even this "progressive" article fails to see the systemic nature of violence against womyn.

Thanks for the great commentary and analysis.