Gary,
Thanks for your email. As you know, the questions you raise are not easily answered but are important starting points for learning and action. I have learned a lot from experts like Leanne and others who have direct experience providing services and supports to the women (predominantly) described in the continuum you discussed below.
I do know that where progress is being made those communities are using a "four pillar" approach which
balances prevention, treatment (provision of services), harm reduction and enforcement. To get there we will need a concerted effort by all levels of government, the broader public sector, the private sector and the non-profit sector. It will take time, talent and funding to make progress.
I am away from the office today and tomorrow but will connect with you directly to look at how we can build neighbourhoods that are safe for everyone.
Thanks again for reaching out to me and I will be in touch very soon.
Regards,
Paul
Paul Johnson
Director, Neighbourhood Development Strategies
The email below was sent by Gary Santucci (and shared with The Hamiltonian), to Paul Johnson and copied to a number of others including city council and other media sources. It discusses the very serious issue of sex trade workers who work on the streets. In tandem, award winning journalist Susan Clairmont of The Hamilton Spectator, wrote this piece (click here) or purchase the print version, that reminds us of the real people who find themselves on the tragic end of this continuum.
CHML also did a broadcast with Santucci and others, which can be heard here
Here is Gary's email:
Hello Paul
In light of Ms Priel's most recent email, I'm taking the initiative to open the lines of communication with you so that we may share our collective expertise and efforts towards the very serious problem of street prostitution in our core neighbourhoods and beyond. In a recent panel discussion on 900 CHML's Bill Kelly Show with guest host Jamie West, Leanne Kilby, Executive Director of the Elizabeth Fry Society Hamilton, gave an overview of the sex trade workers who work on the streets. She referred to this overview as the sex trade continuum that explained how women end up on the street offering sexual acts for money. Her expert remarks may be considered a starting point for the City's Strategic Plan component that deals with street prostitution within the context of your neighbourhood work
The Continuum is as follows;
1. Survival Sex - Potentially homeless and broke financially with no opportunity
2. Single Mother - unable to provide for her children
3. Drug Addiction - selling sex to support a drug habit
4. Mental illness - to be determined
5. Educated very successful financially and have chosen the sex trade as a career
At first glance Ms Kilby's list of women found in categories 1- 4 appears incomprehensible given the tens of millions of dollars that fund our social services safety net. Have they fallen through the cracks? Is this the best we can do for women who find themselves in one or more the categories that Ms Kilby has defined? If both the Police and the Elizabeth Fry Society know the sad predicament that these women find themselves then why are our governmental and non governmental social service delivery agencies so ineffective in the delivery of services in the case of street prostitution? What possible barriers might exist that prevent vulnerable women from seeking and receiving the help that they need? Perhaps you may be able to shed some light on those possible systemic inequities that may or may not exist.
Category number 5. would seem to fall under the current court rulings and appeal on prostitution. If the ruling stands give them a business license, put them under a regime of regulation like any other business; paying taxes and collecting taxes.
Ms Kilby did not specifically mention women involved in an exploitative relationship with organized criminals and pimps, who may in fact be victims of human trafficking. This category would of course fall under the purview of law enforcement
If the system is broken it needs repair. How many more tragic stories will find their beginnings on the streets of our City. The following articles are very disturbing. Felicia Floriani a 15 year old child in the care of the Good Shepherd's Brennan House at King and Ashley is found in a field 10 years after her disappearance; really a sex trade worker, I think not but rather a troubled child exploited and abused. Will we find a "Robert Pictonesque killing farm" in our midst?
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/737204--west-lincoln-body-is-teenaged-hamilton-sex-worker
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/737579--body-lay-unburied-near-road-for-decade
On behalf of our neighbours and business people in Landsdale, we are ready to get to work and join you at the table to advance your efforts. We look forward to hearing from you to begin the process.
Sincerely yours
Gary Santucci
Vice President LANA
Founding Member Prostitution Roundtable 2010
Thoughts, solutions?
While I was typing, The Hamiltonian was posting Mr. Santuci's letter...
ReplyDelete"The tragedy of a HAMILTON CHILD ~ Felicia ~ (her remains were discovered yesterday) surely to Heavens ‘hit home’ with anyone that cares about children!
The obvious message here is that we failed this little girl miserably!
We need to keep our ‘chosen ones’ engaged...how do we change their lack of response back to showing us that they want to remain committed to expressing their thoughts?
IMHO the timing of Felicia’s tragic life and death is a WAKE UP CALL ~ to EVERYONE, and moving forward, I am respectfully requesting that our Councillors not shy away from the TOUGH STUFF ~ I am pleading with them to step up and voice their thoughts on how they (if not as Leaders) as decent human beings; address this little girl’s end ~ to ENSURE that it never happens again..." (I just commented this on 'double vision'.
Prostitutes are not 21 year old~ young adults, out on the streets for a ‘good time’...They were (ARE) children who grow up with something missing...Often they are out looking for affection!
Gary is right on! We have a serious hole in our system that should be in place to protect children!!!
Sex trade workers are on the streets because they are a product of missed opportunities~ mothers trying to feed their children, addicted to drugs, mental illness any/and/or a combination of these reasons! And then this cycle CONTINUES...
I have never understood the denial by our Elected Officials (at all levels) that these human beings are living hell on earth ~ why this is not addressed and aggressively dealt with defies any logic...
(Upper level Government finally 'steps in', and yet Hamilton has no solutions...)
People like Mr Santuci and the neighborhood GRASS ROOT associations that are pleading for change need to be listened to!
Our Councillors have to have their ears perked, eyes wide open and at the table together, to stop what is happening to our children, our streets, our communities.
Thank you Teresa for sharing this !
Have a great day everyone.
An important topic. Here are my comments:
ReplyDelete1. Survival Sex - Potentially homeless and broke financially with no opportunity.
We need more early detection ability. It needs to be pre-emepted before it gets to that point. Families have to be supported not financially, but morally, no matter what form they take. The Best Place to Raise a Child vision should no longer be muted by council.
2. Single Mother - unable to provide for her children
There are many single parents who can and do provide, although it is difficult and at great sacrifice usually to themselves. So, we have to dig deeper on this one.
3. Drug Addiction - selling sex to support a drug habit
See #1 above
4. Mental illness - to be determined
Complicated because mental illness can be of various severity.
5. Educated very successful financially and have chosen the sex trade as a career. Jail time usually puts an end to that career.
So is this Joe-Anne Priel's update from 2+ years of work?
ReplyDeleteTypical bureaucrat-speak from Mr. Johnson, a reply without an answer...
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the map in yesterday's Spectator, http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/737579--body-lay-unburied-near-road-for-decade you'll see that in 10+ years we really haven't progressed very far.
All the councillors care about is development and expansion. We need the focus to be on fixing what we are have now. We need to address - kids on the street, crack houses, prostitution, air quality in community neighbourhoods, enforcing property standards, and the list goes on. Our city has been decaying around for years and all council can think about is expansion and development. All that does is expand our existing problems and city core continues to suffer. I have a lot of respect for folks like Gary Santucci, trying to make an honest living by reinventing a business downtown. However, the constant battles that he faces with no help from the city is very disturbing.
ReplyDeleteRoy
Mr Santucci: I know this is a very important issue to you and one you ahve been fighting for a number of years.
ReplyDeleteFirst I would like to state that all these so called social services we seemingly have, faall far short of what is needed. Most of the programs are useless and redundent, they do nothing or very little.
Should not some of the angst be against the men who use these types of services?
I do not know but with all the austerity measurese coming down the tube, do you think it will get better or worse, I am asking this becuase if there are no jobs, and people, women need to earn money to feed their families, what do you suggest the answer to be?
One must look at all things, most of the social servies have been privatized since the Harris years, thus no public accountablity, for the public dollars they get, right!
To Social Justice; You posted the following;
ReplyDelete"First I would like to state that all these so called social services we seemingly have, faall far short of what is needed. Most of the programs are useless and redundent, they do nothing or very little."
"One must look at all things, most of the social servies have been privatized since the Harris years, thus no public accountablity, for the public dollars they get, right!"
If you believe this to be true then you have answered your own question.
Gary Santucci