Grant: Dissemination Events

In recent years, western Canada has been the subject of national and international news, having witnessed the high-profile trials of three men who murdered street sex workers. The ensuing media attention brought longstanding poor health, lack of services, and abject violence experienced by street sex workers to the public forefront. In the wake of this attention, street communities, families of victims, service providers and advocates are demanding action to ensure that all women are protected and provided for. Paramount to these measures of safety is access to health services, which often act as a crucial contact point between disenfranchised populations and a network of social services. The proposed events will disseminate findings from past research with street sex workers and the family members of street sex workers across western Canada. The events will bring together street sex workers, frontline health service providers, policy makers and academics in collaborative workshops. The objectives of these events are: first, to disseminate key findings from past research; second, to facilitate dialogue between health and social service providers, members of the media, women involved in street sex work, and family members of street sex workers; and third, to produce both a handbook for health and social service providers, and a policy statement calling for action to address health disparities and high levels of violence experienced by street sex workers in western Canada.