File #987: "Stiletto - Volume 1 Number 3.pdf"
Text
"communicating for the purpose
The newsletter
prostitution"
the Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes
In this issue....
The cops vs NOW magazine
Trick or treat?
Poems and drawings by Helen Posno
Money Matters: Pros and the GST
Personal Story: On a European Tour
Safe Sex is Our Business: At the Fair
News: Maggie's opens•AIDS testing in
California•Stripper MP in Manitoba•
Murders in BC
Plus: Resources, Just for Laughs, a
Review of Personal Services
Photo by Konnie Reich
W
Are we disposable people?
ell hasn't this been one hell of
a summer to be a working
prostitute? First of all, in the spring,
the Gord Junger case blew open. You
remember Gord, don't you? He was
the 52 Division constable who got involved in the sex trade after beginning
a relationship with a "highly paid call
girl." Apparently business was good
until Junger's lady friend and partner
got pregnant by him, and he ditched
her. She blew the whistle on him to internal affairs and shortly after, Junger
took a drug bust as a result of a sting
operation. Chief McCormack and the
police commission did a lot ofbackpedalling over that one. Charges
against Gord were subsequently dropped - hmm. Seems there are two versions of the Criminal Code, one for
cops and one for the rest of us. But
didn't we always kind of figure that?
Then in June, the Supreme Court of
Canada upheld section 213 of the Criminal Code, the communicating law,
even though groups such as the
Canadian Organization for the Rights
of Prostitutes told the court that this
law had not decreased street prostitution at all. Why uphold a law that does
not work? According to the report of
the Fraser Commission on Pornography and Prostitution, back before
they passed the law, only 36% of
respondents felt that the police in
Canada should spend more time trying
to bust pros. Why enforce a law that
so many Canadians didn't even want
enacted?
Then in September, NOW was
charged with fourteen counts of communicating for the purposes of prostitution, an action unheard of in this
country. The police fucked up royally
on this one, as an article in this issue
of Stiletto explains in detail.
What are these actions indicative of?
Have the powers that be decided to
wage open war against the sex trade?
Perhaps, but I think this current runs
deeper than that. The Junger case is an
example of the type of hypocrisy and
corruption t.11at one can find within the
ranks of the Metro police.
When the Supreme Court upheld section 213, the judges who voted in
favour of the decision admitted that the
communicating law limits the right to
freedom of expression guaranteed by
the Charter ofRights and Freedoms,
yet the law was upheld. Justice for all except for hos, who are a nuisance.
I think the police action against NOW
magazine sums everything up rather
tidily. The questions that arose out of
the NOW incident indicate that there's
more to this than simply an increased
reaction to prostitution. The police
tried to user the communicating law in
an attempt to censor the paper, totally
disregarding NOW' s rights to freedom
of the press and freedom of expression. The Toronto Sun carries quire enticing, sexual ads, escorts do advertise
in the Star, Bell's Yellow Pages contain 26 pages of escort service ads yet only NOW was charged. The Sun is
generally pro-police, the Star is fairly
middle-of-the-road, Ma Bell - well,
she just didn't figure in this. NOW has
been critical of the police all summer,
so they get hit. With communicating.
Why? ...because they're a "nuisance?"
The police have said time and again
that street prostitution must be "controlled." I think that what the cops really
mean is "directed" - by them. Visible
sex trade workers, street pros, provide
the police with a renewable source of
arrest statistics. When the Metro police
need to show how efficient a force
they are, they go out and sweep pros.
Arrest statistics go up and, in the eyes
of the few, the police look good. Ever
wonder why there are always huge
sweeps before every major event that
occurs in Toronto, such as before the
Shriners' convention last year? Imagine what would have happened if
Toronto had gotten the Olympics?
Standing room only at the West!
This city is in financial trouble. The
number of people requiring social assistance to get by has increased dramatically, the TTC is singing the no-money
blues as their ridership is way down,
2/Stiletto
social services are or will be suffering,
and the Metro police have gone way
over budget. Metro chairman Alan
Tonks has gone begging to Queen's
Park only to have Bob Rae tell him
that the cupboard is bare. Tonks immediate solution to Metro's financial
woes is to "cut the suit to fit the cloth."
So what of Emperor McCormack' s
new clothes? Foot patrol activity will
be reduced and police response time to
calls will increase. June Rowlands cancelled a trip to a police convention,
and cancelled a magazine subscription!
What of morality? Highly paid investigators examining NOW's business
personals. How much did that cost? In
July I watched a small part of a sweep
happening on the Carleton stroll. The
sting used five plainclothes cop and an
unmarked car, and scored four or five
client busts before we figured out a
way to fuck the operation and forced
the heat out of the neighbourhood.
How much does a one or two night
sweep cost? Visible patrols can reduce
the incidents of real crime, as would
quicker response time, making our
neighbourhoods safer for everyone ...
including prostitutes. McCormack has
not mentioned any planned cutbacks in
morality operations.
Why are cutbacks being made in
areas of policing that many of us deem
necessary at the same time no changes
are being proposed in areas that so
many of us see as unnecessary - or unwanted. It's time the police became
financially, as well as socially and
politically, accountable.
The disregard for the "guaranteed"
human rights and freedoms of prostitutes is typical of the effects of the
wave of right-wing, moralistic, conservatism that has swept over the country.
Most societies have always considered
prostitutes to be "disposable people."
Think about what's been inflicted on
the sex industry over the summer, and
over the years. I don't like it. CORP
doesn't like it, and we're doing something about it. The time for change is
long overdue, but we'll have to bring
about the change ourselves, together,
as a movement.
Alexandre Highcrest
The cops go after NOW magazine
I
f you ask most anyone in Toronto
to describe a working prostitute,
you would probably get the same sort
of response form most people.
"High heels, short skirt, a tight, revealing top." Or: "Tight jeans or spandex,
heels, ... you know, sexy looking."
Not all working prostitutes dress in
this manner when they're on the stroll,
but you get the idea. the term "working
prostitute" does conjure up a certain
image - a stereotype - be it right or
wrong. I'd be willing to bet the money
earned from my last date that you
wouldn't, however, get this sort of
description: "Well, let's see, the working pro is a rectangular green box,
about three feet high, with little black
designs all over the front of her. She
doesn't say much, but if you give her
fifty cents, she'll give you a newspaper
- the current copy of NOW." No, not
likely.
t
irl
Yet on August 31, NOW magazine
was hit with fourteen counts of communicating for the purposes of prostitution. On September 6, four of the members of NOW' s Board of Directors;
Michael Hollet, Alice Klein, Lelien
Schaffer and Greg Keilty; were each
served summonses charging them with
similar offences. No other publication
had been charged. Previous to his action, no other publication in Canadian
history had ever been charged in this
manner The case against NOW was
definitely a first.
When the story broke, the first thing I
asked myself was, "why?" Metro
Police Superintendent Jim Clark said
the police were acting on a complaint,
but he wouldn't reveal the source of
the complaint or if there was more
than one. The charges came about as a
result of a six-month police investigation of advertisements in NOW' s Busi-
I
ness Personal ads section. A Metro constable earns a salary of approximately
$45,000 a year. To read ads in the
back pages of NOW? Nice work if you
can get it. Of course not everyone
agreed with Clark. NOW has been criticizing the way the police have handled
a number of controversial cases. Were
the police striking back? McCormack
said the police had no "ulterior motive" in laying their charges. Clark also
said that morality consulted with the
Toronto region of the crown attorney's
office and they were advised that there
was sufficient evidence to lay charges
against the publication.
Yet, in the September 11 issue of the
Toronto Star, John Yoannou of the
regional crown attorney's office, said,
"The police ignored their advice
against charging NOW," and that the
police comments regarding the presence of sufficient evidence were, "in-
After the charges were dropped: NOW's publishers and their supporters meet the press
Stiletto/3
correct, a mii,re1r>resen1tation of the situation." In other words, the cops acted
without the approval of the crown. The
police chose to interpret the law as opposed to simply enforcing it. It seems
the police interpretation was wrong on September 21 all the charges
againstNOWwere dropped.
The hue and cry did not end there. A
number of people involved in the case
demanded an explanation from the
police, but as of yet, nothing has been
forthcoming. Clayton Ruby, the lawyer
retained by NOW to handle their
defence, has stated that the police must
be held responsible for bringing the
magazine to court over a charge that
was so quickly dropped. He also questioned the role of the Metro Toronto
Police Commission, accusing them of
"failing to provide direction."
"Who is in control over there?" Ruby
asked, "Is anyone in control? Police
policies have got to be examined, and
the commission is directly responsible."
June Rowlands, the chair of the commission, responded by saying that the
commission isn't responsible for how
the police lay individual charges. "It
appears a mistake has been made,
though I'm not sure by whom Unfortunately the police are going to take
the blame, even though they're not
responsible."
We would like to know who is
responsible. The crown attorney's office, the police commission and the
police themselves are all claiming that
"it's not our fault."
NOW is to be congratulated on the
way they continued to conduct business during all of this and the
Canadian Organization for the Rights
of Prostitutes (CORP) would like to
say "thank you" to NOW for continuing to publish ads placed by sex trade
workers. Prostitution is a perfectly
legal occupation in Canada and pros
should have as much access to print
media advertising as do landlords,
employers, and other entrepreneurs
who advertise their services in this
manner.
Section 213 of the Criminal Code of
Canada, the communicating law, was
"designed to control the nuisance
problem of street soliciting." Toronto's
police have added section 213 to their
arsenal of weapons to be used against
all form s of prostitution, even though
prostitution itself is legal.
This new strategy that the police
have employed is insidious. When the
cops charged NOW, the case was wellpublicized, and public support quickly
fell in behind NOW. The police underestimated their opponent. So the police
have chosen to attack the most vulnerable element - the individual. There
will be no media coverage of this, no
public support will rally around the individual prostitutes who are being
threatened or charged as the public
will not be aware of the activity. Sex
trade workers may see themselves as
being alone when facing the police and
this attitude makes them potentially
more vulnerable to intimidation - and
~9w.?
~
the cops know this. That is
they
have chosen this particular tactic and
why they have remained closedmouthed about their actions.
But we know. We know about the intimidating phone calls and the visits to
the homes of escorts. we know about
the forms of entrapment that the police
are using to bust individual women.
We know about the hell this has
caused in the lives of some of the
people who have suffered under this
form of harassment. It's time more
people knew.
With information, we can act and
fight this harassment. As long as the
police continue their efforts to wipe
out prostitution this issue will not end,
and as long as prostitutes have to suffer under unfair laws, CORP will be
around. Want to talk to us? Phone 9640150.
Alexandre Higbcrest
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Maggie's opening
T
he Canadian Organization for the
Rights of Prostitutes (CORP) will
be sharing quarters with the Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project (PSSP) at Maggie's -the prostitutes' resource centre.
Our new address is 298 Gerrard St.
East, second floor. We're still getting
the place set up. If you want to take a
look at it, or if you have time to give
us a hand, call and leave your name
and number on the answering machine
at 964-0150.
Maggie's will offer condoms, coffee,
and good company. B.Y.O. mug for
coffee or tea - if you can spare a
couple, bring an extra.
The centre could also use your help
with decorating. Do you do art work
that could be put up on the walls? Do
you have ideas or and/or offers of performances for when we do our coffeehouse nights? Art and performances
Volume 1, Issue 3 - October 1990
is the newsletter of
the Canadian Organization for the
Rights of Prostitutes - CORP
Signed articles represent !he opinions
of the authors only.
On the cover this issue: Sasha and
Helen. Our cover girls just flew in from
Buffalo where they did an interview for
cable TV about the famous short prostitute movie, Prowling By Night which
they both worked on aong with Gwendolyn and many other girls.
Contributing to this issue Chris Bearchell, Erik, Gwendolyn,
Alexandre Highcrest, Helen Posno,
Will Pritchard, Sasha.
Production - Chris Bearchell,
Will Pritchard
Address - Box 1143, Station F,
Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8
Phone -(416) 964-0150
Call for advertising rates.
Deadline for Volume 1, Issue 4 is
November 15, 1990.
should be by people in the business.
(See the ad on page 4 of this issue of
Stiletto for our hours.)
Bad date list hits the
streets of Toronto
The staff and volunteers of the Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project began collecting information for and circulating a
Bad Trick Sheet in September.
You may have seen it already - in
bright yellow, green or pink. The first
few were all yellow but now the colour
changes every time it's updated. A
new one is printed when there's new
info - and so far that's been every two
weeks.
As the sheets themselves explain, you
can pass information along to a PSSP
worker or you can call it in to a special
phone line. Most of the reports
received until now have come in person, rather than over the phone. In any
case, you don't have to give any information about yourself, just as much as
possible about the bad date. (See the
ad on page 14.)
The Bad Trick Sheet has just been
distributed on the street but PSSP is
looking for ways to make similar information available to indoor workers.
Suggestions,anyone?
Condoms available in
Alexandra Park
If you live or work in or near the
Alexandra Park housing project just off
of Queen Street West, a new source of
condoms and other AIDS-prevention
resources is available to you. Kenn
Quayle, a supporter of CORP who has
worked the streets himself in the past,
has been hired as the new Alexandra
Park AIDS educator. If he comes up
and introduces himself to you, welcome him to the neighbourhood. If you
need to track him down, he has a temporary office at Scadding Court Community Centre or you can call and
leave a message at 363-5392. (He
Stiletto/5
works some days and some nights so
you'll just have to catch him when you
can.)
Unsolved BC murders
There have been too many unsolved
murders of women in the Vancouver
area in the last couple of years. And
many of the victims have been women
in the business, including 12 known
prostitutes and two strippers.
Most recently, on September 19, the
body of Cheri Lynn Smith was found
on Vancouver Island. An article in a
recent issue of the Toronto Star talked
about the situation and quoted a street
ho named Brandy who says, "I think
it's a serial killer who's hunting
hookers and nobody cares because
we're hookers."
Trevor Rodney Peters was charged
this September with the August murder
of Nancy Jane Bob in Vancouver.
According to the article, he is being
investigated for links to the other murders. But the Star also quotes a Vancouver cop who says, "there are some
similarities in some of the cases but
we're not prepared to say there's any
link," and an RCMP sergeant who
says, "there's no evidence to connect
the murders."
However, the cops do believe that
there is a connection between at least
three kidnappings of Vancouver pros
who have been tied up, raped and
stabbed or threatened with a knife.
Prostitutes, social workers, feminists
and other members of the community
have been pressuring the police to set
up a special unit to investigate the killings, but so far they are refusing to.
Of course, some of the do-gooder
aren't much help. One of the social
workers quoted in the Star calls the
murder victims "kids" and says "adolescence often extends up to 25, 26
with some of these women because
emotionally they're only 15 or 16.
We're dealing with young children
here." (He's obviously so mature that
he wouldn't complain about the murder of prostitutes unless he thought that
they were too young to know what
were
The article, and the social workers it
quotes, didn't think to mention how
much of Vancouver's police budget
goes into busting the girls (and guys)
and their customers for "communicating," either.
California AIDS testing
of Prostitutes
Recent issues of the US newsletter
Oldest Profession Times (OPT) contain
reports on the California law, passed in
1989, that requires a test for HIV the
virus associated with AIDS, for '
anyone convicted of prostitution.
Two prostitutes who tested positive
for HIV, one from Van Nuys and the
other from Oakland, were released
from jail on the condition that they be
electronically monitored.
Meanwhile a challenge to the testing
law, brought to the California Supreme
Court by nine women and two men
has resulted in a temporary order to~
~lock its enforcement. The 11 prostltutes are claiming that the intrusion
caused by the forced testing law does
not serve any valid public interest.
The law which a San Francisco court
has ruled valid on the grounds that concern for public safety outweighs the
right to privacy, also says that those
correction
In the last issue Stiletto Alexandre
Highcrest' s article on the Supreme
Court's decision to uphold the law
against communicating for the purposes of prostitution referred to the
anti-communicating law as section
195.1 of the Criminal Code of
~anada. For most of its history, that
1s what it was. However, the govem~ent recently did a housecleaning
Job on the Criminal Code - adding a
few things, taking a few away - and
re-numbered it all. Those of you who
have been bllsted for communicating
in the past couple of months may
have noticed that the law is now
called section 213.
are
testing positive can face much
more serious charges.
The September OPT quotes
a San Francisco Women's
AIDS Network (SWAN)
staff person who says, "research shows that professional prostitutes consistently
practice safe sex; not only
do they routinely use condoms with customers, but
many practice only oral sex,
which poses virtually no risk
to the recipient."
The SWAN staffer also
quotes the conclusion of the
US National Research Council's recently-released report
AIDS: the Second Decade
which says that the fear that
female prostitutes would become widely infected and
spread HIV to their customers appear to be unfounded, at least in the
United States. "Rather the
evidence suggests that the
risk of transmission for this
population is more closely associated with drug use than
with multiple sexual clients
and that the threat posed to
and by prostitutes through
With
sexual contact is greater in
personal relationships than in
paying ones." (Which is to say that
female pros face the same risks in relation to HIV that all women do.)
StriJ)p~r fi!IP visits
Wmmpeg
Declaring herself "an :MP of the
world," the Hungarian-born stripper
Ilona Staller, who was elected to the
Italian parliament in 1987, brought her
show to four Winnipeg nightclub
audiences of about 150 in late September.
As well as being a stripper, Ilona,
whose dance name is La Cicciolina _
"the little Fleshy one," has acted in
more than 2CO porn flicks. Her other
job, as a Member of Parliament for the
6/Stiletto
sensual love: La Cicciolina
~dical Party, sees her fighting censorship and promoting legislation to save
the environment.
Born in Hungary of a minister father
and a gynecologist mother, she told
reporters before her show, with the aid
of an interpreter, that she believes that
"with love and sensuality I can return
peace to the world." She has often got~en ~ttention for her causes by appearmg m scanty costumes at press conferences and has most recently made
headlines by offering to sleep with
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein if he
agrees to free foreigners being held as
hostages.
She planned to visit Iraq after her
Winnipeg appearances and told
reporters, "I have an appointment, I go
there as an :MP, not an artist."
Notorious Mustang Ranch closes
After many years as the US's most
preeminent brothel, Mustang Ranch
has closed its doors due to bankruptcy.
At first there were reports that the US
government itself planned to run
Nevada's oldest legal whorehouse (located in Mustang, about 10 miles outside of Reno) until a buyer could be
found for it. But the state's health laws
force workers to be re-tested for sexually transmitted diseases every time they
return to a brothel and since the girls
had fled in response to rumours of an
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) raid,
the tax men couldn't get it operational
quickly and so decided to close it instead.
(Because of the Nevada testing law,
many US pros condemn places like
Mustang as virtual prisons and shun
the state despite the legalization of
prostitution there. Such legalization is
not to be confused with decriminalization which would force the cops to
treat prostitutes as they would any
other group of business people.)
Former Mustang owner Joe Conforte
was reported to owe $13 million in
back taxes. Conforte claimed that IRS
harassment killed a $5 million deal to
sell the brothel forcing him into
bankruptcy.
News from Down Under
According to the AIC' s report, in Victoria many women choose to work illegally rather than in the brothels because brothel owners take up to 60%
of clients fees.
Wife
whore
A woman in the city of Teramo in
central Italy filed assault charges
against her truck driver husband after
Doctors in Hamilton and Toronto have
recently seen ten cases of extreme sensitivity to latex in patients who
developed life-threatening allergic reactions comparable to those caused by
penicillin or bee stings in some people.
A report to the annual meeting of the
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons described the cases in which
patients suffered severe reactions to
particles of latex that got into their
bodies from doctors' gloves during
surgery.
The article pointed out that the risk
of such a reaction from condoms was
far less than the risk of contracting an
STD. But that is probably not much
comfort to a prostitute with such a sensitivity whose work requires constant
up when
out that, unknown to him, she was
working as a call girl, according to a
story from Associated Press.
The hypocritical husband apparently
found out about his wife's secret
profession when he showed up at an
exclusive bordello and asked to see a
woman who had been highly recommended to him by a friend. The
woman turned out to be his wife.
Chris Bearchell
exposure to latex condoms. Anyone
who finds her or himself in such a
situation one might want to consider
using lambskin condoms, which aren't
as good a barrier to STDs as latex is,
and sticking to hand jobs. Or blow
jobs, if they can stand to put the stinky
lambskin condoms in their mouths.
Like anyone who notices they have a
sensitivity to latex, a pro with this
problem should alert her or his MD or
dentist if they are going to have
surgery. It seems the good doctors can
get sterile gloves made out of something other than latex. Maybe we
should be finding out more about just
what these gloves are like in case we
find we need to demand that condoms
be made this way too.
Chris Bearchell
Speaking of legalized prostitution, the
latest issue of Working Girl, the
newsletter of the Prostitutes' Associa-
tion of South Australia, has a story
about a report from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) on
problems there.
In Melbourne, prostitutes complained
to AIC researchers about in-house
fines in brothels for things like not
matching nail polish on fingers and
toes.
The paper documented harassment in
Queensland "where prostitutes had
been arrested at supermarkets simply
for being prostitutes" and although
women can legally work from their
own homes in Queensland, police had
some pro's phones cut off.
I.S
Parkdale Community Legal Services
Our new address is:
165 Dufferin Street (south of King), Toronto, ON
531-2411
Monday
10 am to 6 pm
Tuesday
10 am to noon and 2 pm to 7:30 pm
Wednesday
2 pm to 6 pm
Thursday
noon to 7:30 pm
Stiletto/7
Tric or Treat
Fall is the time of year
when leaves change colour.
Fall is a loaded word
As in "I fell for you darlin'."
Don't kid yourself, honey,
We're fallen women
Here for the money.
Seein' squirrels scurry about
buryin' their nuts
reminds meGot to stash some cash for winter.
How's tricks?
An' the date is an old friend
October 31 Hallowe'en
You dress up as the real you
or be anybody you want to be.
Lots of cross dressers
do their first taste of bein' a girl
on All Hallows Eve.
The one night of the year
when kids can run free
talk to strangers
get sugar high.
On Hallowe'en
I always dressed as a witch.
ABAD GIRL
Back in the middle ages
they burned witches at the stake
tied the women
to a great big phallic pole
and burned them to death.
On Hallowe'en I remember our history.
Women who were different
who disobeyed the church
the independent, mouthy broads
punished for their SPUNK.
In modem stories
the witch is always scary and bad
or else they play her for some old,
forgetful fool.
They lie about us
But we know
Witches were healers
Women who worked with herbs
chanting meditations, riding
broomsticks, flying high.
And long ago in another time
the whore was a priestess.
We tricked in the temple
giving head and handjobs
riding our dildos, flying high
And they call us wicked from Wicca
for wise
Because we know
The Oldest Profession is a holy calling
Giving pleasure is healthy and healing
So Happy Hallowe'en
And Blessed Be
to all the BAD GIRLS who ever have
been
And forever will be
fallen
May you be bad
May the money be good
May the trick be a treat.
OOB (for Boo backwards).
Gwendolyn
October 1990
Wicked and wise:
Helen and Sasha.
Photo by Konnie Reich
Truth is hard to
hold
money is
cold mankind the matter
old with relevance haunting
the steps of flesh revealing
mysteries secreting wisdom
throughout human nature come
seek and you shall
find incredible and intangible the
ways of magic immense in the
making small packaging
the final undoing rise up take
up your bed and
walk
your faith has made you
whole
whore heart
Helen Posno/90
Freedom of screech
em
d
•
dra I g
by
In
Pos 0
this is the way god is
meeting each day
prepared and
preparing for love
lovers wandering
over the face of the
earth haunted and
haunting
that is
what god is
preparing to meet and
love and accept all fonns of
loneliness
Helen Posno/90
Stiletto/9
choosing things to
suit the purposes
selecting the purposes to
uphold the reasons
collecting the reasons to
maintain the precepts
claiming the precepts to
support the philosophies
hurling the philosophies to
foster the theories
nurturing theories to
cultivate the laws
declaring the laws to
question realities
Helen Posno/90
r
r
F
or those of you who haven't been
to Europe, let me tell you, everything you've ever heard about it is
true. I travelled a few of the major
centres of the "old world" and fell in
love, with the sights, the sounds and
the people. Being there for a month
was barely enough to absorb everything. But it was just enough to get a
good taste of a very relaxed society.
Amsterdam was the first stop on my
agenda. Mainly known for its legalizing of prostitution and drugs and
refusal of architectural alteration causing any of the original buildings to be
demolished. it's a beautiful little town,
quaint and friendly. People told me it
would be filthy and garbage ridden, I
didn't find it so terrible (they obvious. ly have never been to New York).
The RedLight District is just that.
Red lights line the streets as if it were
Christmas. It's the perfect place for
window shopping. You pass houses
with wide, open windows and in each
is a girl in sexy lingerie - usually
white to be accentuated by the black
light above their lavish perch. In the
same area are theatres where they have
live sex shows. I didn't get a chance to
see one, but judging from the pictures
outside, I figured they must be something else.
So, if you're looking for a place
where you would be able to vacation
and pay for trip at the same time, I
highly recommend Amsterdam.
Paris is a majestic city - definitely
the capital of Europe. It is quite expensive, but well worth it, in the downtown area anyway. Now, as far as
work, the girls seemed to be everywhere. They're quite discrete and judging from the way they're dressed are
doing extremely well.
The mother-tongue of course is
French. The Parisiennes aren't really
that stuck up, they just prefer you to
speak French. But if they like you
photo by Chris Bearchell
10/Stiletto
enough they'll speak English, because
most do. And if they know you're
Canadian they're even more amiable.
All in all, Paris is tolerant of our business affairs. I didn't get a chance to inquire about its laws on the subject, but
I'm sure there is really no difficulties.
Barcelona is really tropical, situated
on the Mediterranean it's quite beautiful as well but you're more aware of
the poverty that resides there. The
people speak Spanish and Catalane (a
language very similar to French in writing but not when pronounced) and almost no English. I found it difficult to
get along for that reason.
Prostitution is used more for a means
of survival, than an actual business,
due to the lack of jobs and high cost of
living. A girl can make about $10-20,
a boy about $5 (Canadian currency).
So I wouldn't recommend working
there since people practically give it
away.
I had planned to also go
to Germany, Italy and
England. But I bit off
more than I could chew
with the places I'd gone
to. But I did get a chance
to talk to people who
were vacationing from
those places, and found
out some useful information. Germany is very
tolerant to prostitution
and quite abundant
money wise. It helps also
to specialize in certain
things such as S&M or
B&D.
Our work is legal in
Italy, but it is best to
work through houses or
agencies, otherwise there
isn't much money to be
made. Work is abundant
in England as well but
it's highly risky. The
Vice Squad is everywhere. (Sound familiar?).
Erik
OLDEST
PROFESSION
TIMES
A newsletter published by 90's
Ladies and Friends, a group
working for the repeal of laws
against prostitutes.
OPT, l 125-9thStreet,
Sacramento, CA, 95814 USA
Working
Girl
A magazine published by the
Prostitutes Association of
South Australia (PASA).
PASA
PO Box 7072, Hutt Street
Adelaide 5000
Australia
th
W
ith all the talk about Ottawa's
. . new tax, I couldn't help wondenng if the federal Tories are prepared to admit that the government of
Canada wants to "live off the avails?"
I called the GST enquiries number. A
machine put me on hold and told me,
in English and French, that my call
would be answered as soon as possible. Then Sandra answered. She
snickered when I explained that I was
writing about the GST for Stiletto and who the newsletter is for.
She put me on hold when I asked if
pros had been calling to find out if the
tax applies to sexual services. She said
I'd have to get that information from
someone in Ottawa then gave me a
wrong number there. I got the machine
again when I called back to get the
right number, then another person
(who didn't say his name) put me on
hold to find Sandra and, in the process,
I got cut off. That's what I get for calling the government.
I finally got through to Gordon Lee
at Revenue Canada in Ottawa. He
spluttered when he heard my question
and answered sarcastically "All services are taxable. If the madam of the
house wants to register with Revenue
Canada ... " I interrupted him and explained that working in a brothel is illegal under the bawdy house laws, so
most of Canada's prostitutes work as
independent freelancers. Lee
responded that it didn't matter that
prostitution was illegal, it was still taxable. I explained that prostitution per
se was not illegal, just communicating
for it in public and working in brothels
- but such subtleties were oqviously
lost on him.
I made one more stab at trying to get
useful information. I said that I understood that certain health care services
were exempt from the GST and asked
if that included the services of sexual
surrogates. He replied indignantly that
Stiletto/11
I was "getting a bit intimate." Clearly
he wouldn't have been able to answer
if I had asked him if the GST would
apply to the poor premature ejaculator
or the guy who pays for sex but then
can't get it up.
•
I pieced together what I was able to
find out in all these conversations.
Here it is:
A freelancer in any profession is required to register with Revenue
Canada and charge Goods and Services Tax if they earn more than
$30,000 a year. To register as a freelancer, you fill out a form which you can
get from the Post Office. Or you can
have it sent to you by Revenue Canada
(if you can stand to go through the
hassle of trying to get a hold of them).
The form comes with a little booklet
that's supposed to help you decide
whether or not you should register.
The form asks you to briefly describe
your business activity.
I was able to ask Sandra whether a
description like entertainer, consultant,
or artist would be good enough? She
said that they might want to know
more but, since the regulations haven't
been applied before, she wasn't sure
so, "you could try and see."
I asked if the new tax law will say
which services are or are not taxable?
Sandra said that there is a list of some
services which are not taxable and
gave the example of health care and
educational services. Escorts, prostitutes, artists, consultants, and entertainers are not on the list of exemptions. So, if in the past you have filed
yo~r taxes in any_ of those categories,
or 1f you plan to m the future, the
government wants you to collect taxes
for them on your services.
It would seem that the federal Tories
have no problem at all with "living off
the avails of prostitution" - as long as
they're the ones who get the bucks!
Chris Bearchell
PSSP goes to Cabbagetown's Festival '90
Pro tit tes t th Fall Fair
G
wendolyn looked as tense as I
was as she hurried toward me
from across the park. I had already
cased the grounds with my little girl in
tow.
The day was busy, crisp and bright
Everyone in Toronto seemed to be out
to thoroughly enjoy the festivities of
the well-publicized Cabbagetown Fall
Festival '90:
Gwendo's and my anxiety
would seem out of place on
such a day as this. The
uplifting mood of the
numerous artists and sellers
whose booths wound
through the parks and
streets certainly dispelled
any feelings of tenseness in
the day. Families flocked
together up and down to
view creative works and
goods on display.
Gwendolyn hurried us
back to the meeting place. I
could see Alexandre, puffing worriedly over a
cigarette.
I do believe in all of our
hearts, we were feeling
more than slightly out of
place. Family day at the festival is somewhat questionable grounds for the establishment of a Prostitute
Information booth. Our decision had
been made, however, to follow through
with our contribution to the public, and
when prostitutes are ready to work,
work they do.
We loaded our table and chairs along
with posters and goods to a fairly
respectful location. We somehow felt
that setting up our red light between
the lemonade stand and the corn roast
line up wouldn't go over too big. Business might have bee stickier than the
discrete side street we chose.
We busied ourselves with the work of
stringing up our lovely red light from a
near-by tree. We propped up our
posters and covered our table with condoms and literature. Our famous buttons were displayed as well.
Needless to say, by this time we were
getting some interesting looks from the
passersby. Ours was not a used clothing booth, easily approached.
For all of you hos our there who've
been receiving your literature, con-
doms and buttons free from us, you'll
be pleased to know that we charged
the public for buttons and Stiletto. A
buck a throw.
After setting up our display,
Alexandre had to leave us to attend
another of the numerous conferences
where we represent the many people in
our profession.
Shortly after however, we were
joined by Chrissy who brought more
goodies to sell.
Then, strangely, they all left me.
Even my daughter. Errands here and
there, things to do places to go. They
did come back a little while later. In
the meantime, there I was, all alone.
12/Stiletto
Me and my whore booth. At least I
was ready for action. My pop and comon-the-cob would be coming along
soon. Time to relax and get ready.
My first prospect was lurking and
pacing right across the street. I gave
him the wink and he scurried toward
me, head bent low, eyes shifting from
back and forth. I engaged him in light
safe sex conversation for
quite a while. It was a necessary ice breaker for other
people, seeing someone else
talking so openly with an advertised prostitute. People
came slowly but surely, and
then, steadily.
Older people, wiser than
the middle-aged. More able
to speak freely. Very
pleased to see us. The
remarks were animated,
from "It's about time," to
"What's really happening
out there?"
A close running to our
seniors were straight
women. Perhaps curious,
but mostly truly interested
in what we had to say, and
offer. Stiletto sales were a
big hit with the women.
Young people came. Some
of them after walking past
us five or six times. They wanted to
know what was going on. Needless to
say they walked away with a few free
condoms. Hopefully with an ingrained
message on how to use them.
Men came, HA HA, and left with condoms.
Button sales were big with everyone.
We had our token drunk for the day.
He drew a little more business just by
being there, but we had to get rid of
him. A few times. Sadly he left his
cigarettes behind on his last trip out.
We considered it payment for dealing
with all his bullshit.
We shared with
people from many
walks of life. There was
a school teacher we
talked with quite extensively. Later, after we
closed our booth, I
walked through the festival grounds with my
daughter. I saw this
teacher sitting off to
one side from people.
He was propped up
against a tree, quietly
reading Stiletto. I
watched him for quite
some time, just contemplating, I think. He
had earlier made his
concern
our uneducated, unworldly
young people very clear to us. Nobody
wants anybody to contract AIDS.
Would school-going people listen
more closely to whores than to
teachers in an auditorium? Perhaps the
freedom of speech we offered during
our display in Cabbagetown struck a
note with him.
With all professionals and the many
parents who came to us with their
children we believe we struck more .
than a note.
It was suddenly okay to talk about
everything with us. To ask anything,
and be answered, straight ahead.
Sasha
"communicating for the purposes of prostitution"
Subscribe to Toronto's sharpest new magazine.
And help us keep on communicating.
I/we want to help CORP keep on communicating.
Enter this Stiletto subscription as:
_
_
_
_
an individual subscriber, at $10 for six issues
a supporting subscriber, at $20 for six issues
an agency subscription, at $30 for six issues
I am also enclosing a donation of $_ _ __
·Name:---------------------------Address: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
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Telephone:-----------------------Please mail this form and your cheque or money order, payable to Stiletto, to:
, Stiletto, P.O. Box 1143, Station F, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 2TB
,
L-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~
Stiletto/13
Rent it for your next video party
Personal Services is brilliant
Personal Services is a recently released
video directed by Terry Jones. It is set
in London, England in the late '70s to
late '80s. Taken from the life story of
Cynthia Payne, it's a factual, realistic,
plus positive look at prostitution in a
conservative, hypocritical city.
Julie Waters, who's been in movies
such as Educating Rita, Monty
Python's The Life of Brian and The
Holy Grail, is cast in the leading role.
In this comedy/drama she gives a
hilariously incorrigible, yet worming
performance of being a sex worker, in
a sexually suppressed society.
It all begins when she discovers that
the lady she cleans house for once a
week is a prostitute (dominatrix style),
due to the frequent visits of gentlemen
while the lady is on holiday. Assuming
that she herself is in the business, the
men blatantly ask her of her
availability. At first shocked and appalled as any proper English lady
would be (guffaw), she refuses them.
At the same time, she finds that she's
quite intrigued by the idea of sex for
money and thus slowly works her way
into becoming a successful sex worker,
then later an entrepreneurial Madame.
Written by David Leland, of Mona
Lisa fame, it's a brilliant rendition of
an existence we indoor pros are all
quite familiar with, therefore I feel you
will agree with most of the contents of
this film.
And maybe, just maybe, it '11 give you
some fun new ideas for home and
office.
Erik
Hassl Fre
linic
for birth control and sexually transmitted diseases
566 Church St., at Wellesley, 2nd floor, Ste. 2
Women's Clinic
hours:
phone 922-0566
Mon, Wed, Fri - 10 am to 3 pm
Tues & Thurs - 4 pm to 8 pm
If you've been assaulted,
harassed or ripped-off by a
date, call us anytime and
tell us what happened I
th~ incident only.
STD drop-in (no appointment necessary)
YOU DON'T HAVE TO
GIVE US ANY
INFORMATION ABOUT
YOURSELF.
Tues & Thurs - 4pm to 6pm
hours:
lists are updated weekly
and are distributed on fhe
street by the staff of the
Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project.
We ask for detai Is about
by appointment
Men's Clinic
THIS IS A LIST
OF BAD DATES.
WATCH OUT FOR THEM,
AND AVOID THEM!
phone 922-0603
Mon & Wed - 4 pm to 9 pm
Tues & Thurs - 10 am to 2 pm
Fri - 4 pm to 7 pm
Sat - 1 O am to 2 pm
no appointment necessary
Free and confidential health care services.
Hassle Free does anonymous HIV testing.
14/Stiletto
760-3752
A FREE SERVla - 24 HOURS
LEGAL
SERVICES
• Legal Aid:
Old City Hall - 598-0200
College Park - 598-1260
University A venue - 598-0200
• Parkdale Community Legal
Services - 531-2411
(See ad for hours.)
• Neighbourhood Legal Services
- 961-2625
• Justice for Children (under 18
years old) - 920-1633
• Lawline - 978-7293
• Dial-a-law - 947-3333
• Lawyer Referral Service
(includes free 1-hour
consultation) - 947-3330
Pissed off with your lawyer?
Call CORP at 964-0150, leave a
message on our answering
machine, and we '11 get back to
you as soon as we can. We can
help you find the kind of legal
advice you need.
• Hassle Free Clinic - 556
Church St,
Men - 922-0603,
Women - 922-0566.
(See ad for hours.)
• Niagara Neighbourhood
Health Centre - 674 Queen St
w, 363-2021.
• Parkdale Community Health
Centre - 1257 Queen St \V,
537-2455.
•St.Lawrence Health Service 45 Lower Jarvis St, 864-6000.
• Street Health (free nursing
services) - at
All Saints Church, Open Door,
315 Dundas E, Tues 2-4 pm.
Or Fred Victor Mission at
Queen and Jarvis Wed 5-7.
863-1610.
• South Riverdale Community
Health Centre - 126 Pape Ave,
461-2493.
• The House (planned parenthood youth clinic) 36B Prince
Arthur, 927-7171.
• The Works (needle exchange) 660 Dundas Street W, 392-0520
• City hostel (for families) 674 Dundas W, 392-5500.
• Covenant House (Catholic; for
men and women under 21)
- 70 Gerrard E, 593-4849.
• 416 (drop-in for women;
daytime) - 416 Dundas E, ·
928-3334.
• Nellie's (for women) - 275A
Broadview, 461-1084.
• Robertson House (for women)
- 291 Sherbourne, 392-5650.
• Seaton House (for single men)
- 339 George St, 392-5522.
• Stop 86 (for women under 21)
- 922-3271.
• Street Haven (for women) 87 Pembroke, 967-6060.
FOOD
BANKS
Daily Bread Food Bank will tell
you locations of food banks
near you. 769-5155.
HEALTH
SERVICES
• AIDS Committee of Toronto 926-1626.
• Alexandra Park Community
Health Service - 64 Augusta,
364-4107.
• Bay Centre for Birth Control 901 Bay St, 920-1263.
• Birth Control and VD
Information Centre - 2828
Bathurst, 789-4541.
• Davenport-Perth Community
Health Centre - 1944 Davenport, 658-6812.
I
,-----------------------
•••
'
T!
Most prostitutes use condoms with our tricks, but like so many other people, some of us think we do not need
to use condoms with our lovers. Many people get AIDS from lovers they think are healthy - from lovers
who don't know themselves that they are carrying the virus.
If someone will not use condoms with you, chances are they have had sex with other people without a condom. People are not always honest about what they did before you met them.
A lot of people get AIDS from sharing a needle when using drugs.
If you shoot drugs, do not share a needle with anybody, not even a lover. If you do not have your own
needle, clean the needle first. Draw bleach into the needle and squirt it out a couple of times to kill viruses
and germs. Then do the same thing with water.
For more info, call ACT 926-1626, Public Health 392-AIDS, or Hassle Free Clinic 922-0603/922-0566.
Produced by the Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project (PSSP), Box 1143, Station F, Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8.
PSSP can be reached at (416) 964-0150.
The newsletter
prostitution"
the Canadian Organization for the Rights of Prostitutes
In this issue....
The cops vs NOW magazine
Trick or treat?
Poems and drawings by Helen Posno
Money Matters: Pros and the GST
Personal Story: On a European Tour
Safe Sex is Our Business: At the Fair
News: Maggie's opens•AIDS testing in
California•Stripper MP in Manitoba•
Murders in BC
Plus: Resources, Just for Laughs, a
Review of Personal Services
Photo by Konnie Reich
W
Are we disposable people?
ell hasn't this been one hell of
a summer to be a working
prostitute? First of all, in the spring,
the Gord Junger case blew open. You
remember Gord, don't you? He was
the 52 Division constable who got involved in the sex trade after beginning
a relationship with a "highly paid call
girl." Apparently business was good
until Junger's lady friend and partner
got pregnant by him, and he ditched
her. She blew the whistle on him to internal affairs and shortly after, Junger
took a drug bust as a result of a sting
operation. Chief McCormack and the
police commission did a lot ofbackpedalling over that one. Charges
against Gord were subsequently dropped - hmm. Seems there are two versions of the Criminal Code, one for
cops and one for the rest of us. But
didn't we always kind of figure that?
Then in June, the Supreme Court of
Canada upheld section 213 of the Criminal Code, the communicating law,
even though groups such as the
Canadian Organization for the Rights
of Prostitutes told the court that this
law had not decreased street prostitution at all. Why uphold a law that does
not work? According to the report of
the Fraser Commission on Pornography and Prostitution, back before
they passed the law, only 36% of
respondents felt that the police in
Canada should spend more time trying
to bust pros. Why enforce a law that
so many Canadians didn't even want
enacted?
Then in September, NOW was
charged with fourteen counts of communicating for the purposes of prostitution, an action unheard of in this
country. The police fucked up royally
on this one, as an article in this issue
of Stiletto explains in detail.
What are these actions indicative of?
Have the powers that be decided to
wage open war against the sex trade?
Perhaps, but I think this current runs
deeper than that. The Junger case is an
example of the type of hypocrisy and
corruption t.11at one can find within the
ranks of the Metro police.
When the Supreme Court upheld section 213, the judges who voted in
favour of the decision admitted that the
communicating law limits the right to
freedom of expression guaranteed by
the Charter ofRights and Freedoms,
yet the law was upheld. Justice for all except for hos, who are a nuisance.
I think the police action against NOW
magazine sums everything up rather
tidily. The questions that arose out of
the NOW incident indicate that there's
more to this than simply an increased
reaction to prostitution. The police
tried to user the communicating law in
an attempt to censor the paper, totally
disregarding NOW' s rights to freedom
of the press and freedom of expression. The Toronto Sun carries quire enticing, sexual ads, escorts do advertise
in the Star, Bell's Yellow Pages contain 26 pages of escort service ads yet only NOW was charged. The Sun is
generally pro-police, the Star is fairly
middle-of-the-road, Ma Bell - well,
she just didn't figure in this. NOW has
been critical of the police all summer,
so they get hit. With communicating.
Why? ...because they're a "nuisance?"
The police have said time and again
that street prostitution must be "controlled." I think that what the cops really
mean is "directed" - by them. Visible
sex trade workers, street pros, provide
the police with a renewable source of
arrest statistics. When the Metro police
need to show how efficient a force
they are, they go out and sweep pros.
Arrest statistics go up and, in the eyes
of the few, the police look good. Ever
wonder why there are always huge
sweeps before every major event that
occurs in Toronto, such as before the
Shriners' convention last year? Imagine what would have happened if
Toronto had gotten the Olympics?
Standing room only at the West!
This city is in financial trouble. The
number of people requiring social assistance to get by has increased dramatically, the TTC is singing the no-money
blues as their ridership is way down,
2/Stiletto
social services are or will be suffering,
and the Metro police have gone way
over budget. Metro chairman Alan
Tonks has gone begging to Queen's
Park only to have Bob Rae tell him
that the cupboard is bare. Tonks immediate solution to Metro's financial
woes is to "cut the suit to fit the cloth."
So what of Emperor McCormack' s
new clothes? Foot patrol activity will
be reduced and police response time to
calls will increase. June Rowlands cancelled a trip to a police convention,
and cancelled a magazine subscription!
What of morality? Highly paid investigators examining NOW's business
personals. How much did that cost? In
July I watched a small part of a sweep
happening on the Carleton stroll. The
sting used five plainclothes cop and an
unmarked car, and scored four or five
client busts before we figured out a
way to fuck the operation and forced
the heat out of the neighbourhood.
How much does a one or two night
sweep cost? Visible patrols can reduce
the incidents of real crime, as would
quicker response time, making our
neighbourhoods safer for everyone ...
including prostitutes. McCormack has
not mentioned any planned cutbacks in
morality operations.
Why are cutbacks being made in
areas of policing that many of us deem
necessary at the same time no changes
are being proposed in areas that so
many of us see as unnecessary - or unwanted. It's time the police became
financially, as well as socially and
politically, accountable.
The disregard for the "guaranteed"
human rights and freedoms of prostitutes is typical of the effects of the
wave of right-wing, moralistic, conservatism that has swept over the country.
Most societies have always considered
prostitutes to be "disposable people."
Think about what's been inflicted on
the sex industry over the summer, and
over the years. I don't like it. CORP
doesn't like it, and we're doing something about it. The time for change is
long overdue, but we'll have to bring
about the change ourselves, together,
as a movement.
Alexandre Highcrest
The cops go after NOW magazine
I
f you ask most anyone in Toronto
to describe a working prostitute,
you would probably get the same sort
of response form most people.
"High heels, short skirt, a tight, revealing top." Or: "Tight jeans or spandex,
heels, ... you know, sexy looking."
Not all working prostitutes dress in
this manner when they're on the stroll,
but you get the idea. the term "working
prostitute" does conjure up a certain
image - a stereotype - be it right or
wrong. I'd be willing to bet the money
earned from my last date that you
wouldn't, however, get this sort of
description: "Well, let's see, the working pro is a rectangular green box,
about three feet high, with little black
designs all over the front of her. She
doesn't say much, but if you give her
fifty cents, she'll give you a newspaper
- the current copy of NOW." No, not
likely.
t
irl
Yet on August 31, NOW magazine
was hit with fourteen counts of communicating for the purposes of prostitution. On September 6, four of the members of NOW' s Board of Directors;
Michael Hollet, Alice Klein, Lelien
Schaffer and Greg Keilty; were each
served summonses charging them with
similar offences. No other publication
had been charged. Previous to his action, no other publication in Canadian
history had ever been charged in this
manner The case against NOW was
definitely a first.
When the story broke, the first thing I
asked myself was, "why?" Metro
Police Superintendent Jim Clark said
the police were acting on a complaint,
but he wouldn't reveal the source of
the complaint or if there was more
than one. The charges came about as a
result of a six-month police investigation of advertisements in NOW' s Busi-
I
ness Personal ads section. A Metro constable earns a salary of approximately
$45,000 a year. To read ads in the
back pages of NOW? Nice work if you
can get it. Of course not everyone
agreed with Clark. NOW has been criticizing the way the police have handled
a number of controversial cases. Were
the police striking back? McCormack
said the police had no "ulterior motive" in laying their charges. Clark also
said that morality consulted with the
Toronto region of the crown attorney's
office and they were advised that there
was sufficient evidence to lay charges
against the publication.
Yet, in the September 11 issue of the
Toronto Star, John Yoannou of the
regional crown attorney's office, said,
"The police ignored their advice
against charging NOW," and that the
police comments regarding the presence of sufficient evidence were, "in-
After the charges were dropped: NOW's publishers and their supporters meet the press
Stiletto/3
correct, a mii,re1r>resen1tation of the situation." In other words, the cops acted
without the approval of the crown. The
police chose to interpret the law as opposed to simply enforcing it. It seems
the police interpretation was wrong on September 21 all the charges
againstNOWwere dropped.
The hue and cry did not end there. A
number of people involved in the case
demanded an explanation from the
police, but as of yet, nothing has been
forthcoming. Clayton Ruby, the lawyer
retained by NOW to handle their
defence, has stated that the police must
be held responsible for bringing the
magazine to court over a charge that
was so quickly dropped. He also questioned the role of the Metro Toronto
Police Commission, accusing them of
"failing to provide direction."
"Who is in control over there?" Ruby
asked, "Is anyone in control? Police
policies have got to be examined, and
the commission is directly responsible."
June Rowlands, the chair of the commission, responded by saying that the
commission isn't responsible for how
the police lay individual charges. "It
appears a mistake has been made,
though I'm not sure by whom Unfortunately the police are going to take
the blame, even though they're not
responsible."
We would like to know who is
responsible. The crown attorney's office, the police commission and the
police themselves are all claiming that
"it's not our fault."
NOW is to be congratulated on the
way they continued to conduct business during all of this and the
Canadian Organization for the Rights
of Prostitutes (CORP) would like to
say "thank you" to NOW for continuing to publish ads placed by sex trade
workers. Prostitution is a perfectly
legal occupation in Canada and pros
should have as much access to print
media advertising as do landlords,
employers, and other entrepreneurs
who advertise their services in this
manner.
Section 213 of the Criminal Code of
Canada, the communicating law, was
"designed to control the nuisance
problem of street soliciting." Toronto's
police have added section 213 to their
arsenal of weapons to be used against
all form s of prostitution, even though
prostitution itself is legal.
This new strategy that the police
have employed is insidious. When the
cops charged NOW, the case was wellpublicized, and public support quickly
fell in behind NOW. The police underestimated their opponent. So the police
have chosen to attack the most vulnerable element - the individual. There
will be no media coverage of this, no
public support will rally around the individual prostitutes who are being
threatened or charged as the public
will not be aware of the activity. Sex
trade workers may see themselves as
being alone when facing the police and
this attitude makes them potentially
more vulnerable to intimidation - and
~9w.?
~
the cops know this. That is
they
have chosen this particular tactic and
why they have remained closedmouthed about their actions.
But we know. We know about the intimidating phone calls and the visits to
the homes of escorts. we know about
the forms of entrapment that the police
are using to bust individual women.
We know about the hell this has
caused in the lives of some of the
people who have suffered under this
form of harassment. It's time more
people knew.
With information, we can act and
fight this harassment. As long as the
police continue their efforts to wipe
out prostitution this issue will not end,
and as long as prostitutes have to suffer under unfair laws, CORP will be
around. Want to talk to us? Phone 9640150.
Alexandre Higbcrest
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Maggie's opening
T
he Canadian Organization for the
Rights of Prostitutes (CORP) will
be sharing quarters with the Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project (PSSP) at Maggie's -the prostitutes' resource centre.
Our new address is 298 Gerrard St.
East, second floor. We're still getting
the place set up. If you want to take a
look at it, or if you have time to give
us a hand, call and leave your name
and number on the answering machine
at 964-0150.
Maggie's will offer condoms, coffee,
and good company. B.Y.O. mug for
coffee or tea - if you can spare a
couple, bring an extra.
The centre could also use your help
with decorating. Do you do art work
that could be put up on the walls? Do
you have ideas or and/or offers of performances for when we do our coffeehouse nights? Art and performances
Volume 1, Issue 3 - October 1990
is the newsletter of
the Canadian Organization for the
Rights of Prostitutes - CORP
Signed articles represent !he opinions
of the authors only.
On the cover this issue: Sasha and
Helen. Our cover girls just flew in from
Buffalo where they did an interview for
cable TV about the famous short prostitute movie, Prowling By Night which
they both worked on aong with Gwendolyn and many other girls.
Contributing to this issue Chris Bearchell, Erik, Gwendolyn,
Alexandre Highcrest, Helen Posno,
Will Pritchard, Sasha.
Production - Chris Bearchell,
Will Pritchard
Address - Box 1143, Station F,
Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8
Phone -(416) 964-0150
Call for advertising rates.
Deadline for Volume 1, Issue 4 is
November 15, 1990.
should be by people in the business.
(See the ad on page 4 of this issue of
Stiletto for our hours.)
Bad date list hits the
streets of Toronto
The staff and volunteers of the Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project began collecting information for and circulating a
Bad Trick Sheet in September.
You may have seen it already - in
bright yellow, green or pink. The first
few were all yellow but now the colour
changes every time it's updated. A
new one is printed when there's new
info - and so far that's been every two
weeks.
As the sheets themselves explain, you
can pass information along to a PSSP
worker or you can call it in to a special
phone line. Most of the reports
received until now have come in person, rather than over the phone. In any
case, you don't have to give any information about yourself, just as much as
possible about the bad date. (See the
ad on page 14.)
The Bad Trick Sheet has just been
distributed on the street but PSSP is
looking for ways to make similar information available to indoor workers.
Suggestions,anyone?
Condoms available in
Alexandra Park
If you live or work in or near the
Alexandra Park housing project just off
of Queen Street West, a new source of
condoms and other AIDS-prevention
resources is available to you. Kenn
Quayle, a supporter of CORP who has
worked the streets himself in the past,
has been hired as the new Alexandra
Park AIDS educator. If he comes up
and introduces himself to you, welcome him to the neighbourhood. If you
need to track him down, he has a temporary office at Scadding Court Community Centre or you can call and
leave a message at 363-5392. (He
Stiletto/5
works some days and some nights so
you'll just have to catch him when you
can.)
Unsolved BC murders
There have been too many unsolved
murders of women in the Vancouver
area in the last couple of years. And
many of the victims have been women
in the business, including 12 known
prostitutes and two strippers.
Most recently, on September 19, the
body of Cheri Lynn Smith was found
on Vancouver Island. An article in a
recent issue of the Toronto Star talked
about the situation and quoted a street
ho named Brandy who says, "I think
it's a serial killer who's hunting
hookers and nobody cares because
we're hookers."
Trevor Rodney Peters was charged
this September with the August murder
of Nancy Jane Bob in Vancouver.
According to the article, he is being
investigated for links to the other murders. But the Star also quotes a Vancouver cop who says, "there are some
similarities in some of the cases but
we're not prepared to say there's any
link," and an RCMP sergeant who
says, "there's no evidence to connect
the murders."
However, the cops do believe that
there is a connection between at least
three kidnappings of Vancouver pros
who have been tied up, raped and
stabbed or threatened with a knife.
Prostitutes, social workers, feminists
and other members of the community
have been pressuring the police to set
up a special unit to investigate the killings, but so far they are refusing to.
Of course, some of the do-gooder
aren't much help. One of the social
workers quoted in the Star calls the
murder victims "kids" and says "adolescence often extends up to 25, 26
with some of these women because
emotionally they're only 15 or 16.
We're dealing with young children
here." (He's obviously so mature that
he wouldn't complain about the murder of prostitutes unless he thought that
they were too young to know what
were
The article, and the social workers it
quotes, didn't think to mention how
much of Vancouver's police budget
goes into busting the girls (and guys)
and their customers for "communicating," either.
California AIDS testing
of Prostitutes
Recent issues of the US newsletter
Oldest Profession Times (OPT) contain
reports on the California law, passed in
1989, that requires a test for HIV the
virus associated with AIDS, for '
anyone convicted of prostitution.
Two prostitutes who tested positive
for HIV, one from Van Nuys and the
other from Oakland, were released
from jail on the condition that they be
electronically monitored.
Meanwhile a challenge to the testing
law, brought to the California Supreme
Court by nine women and two men
has resulted in a temporary order to~
~lock its enforcement. The 11 prostltutes are claiming that the intrusion
caused by the forced testing law does
not serve any valid public interest.
The law which a San Francisco court
has ruled valid on the grounds that concern for public safety outweighs the
right to privacy, also says that those
correction
In the last issue Stiletto Alexandre
Highcrest' s article on the Supreme
Court's decision to uphold the law
against communicating for the purposes of prostitution referred to the
anti-communicating law as section
195.1 of the Criminal Code of
~anada. For most of its history, that
1s what it was. However, the govem~ent recently did a housecleaning
Job on the Criminal Code - adding a
few things, taking a few away - and
re-numbered it all. Those of you who
have been bllsted for communicating
in the past couple of months may
have noticed that the law is now
called section 213.
are
testing positive can face much
more serious charges.
The September OPT quotes
a San Francisco Women's
AIDS Network (SWAN)
staff person who says, "research shows that professional prostitutes consistently
practice safe sex; not only
do they routinely use condoms with customers, but
many practice only oral sex,
which poses virtually no risk
to the recipient."
The SWAN staffer also
quotes the conclusion of the
US National Research Council's recently-released report
AIDS: the Second Decade
which says that the fear that
female prostitutes would become widely infected and
spread HIV to their customers appear to be unfounded, at least in the
United States. "Rather the
evidence suggests that the
risk of transmission for this
population is more closely associated with drug use than
with multiple sexual clients
and that the threat posed to
and by prostitutes through
With
sexual contact is greater in
personal relationships than in
paying ones." (Which is to say that
female pros face the same risks in relation to HIV that all women do.)
StriJ)p~r fi!IP visits
Wmmpeg
Declaring herself "an :MP of the
world," the Hungarian-born stripper
Ilona Staller, who was elected to the
Italian parliament in 1987, brought her
show to four Winnipeg nightclub
audiences of about 150 in late September.
As well as being a stripper, Ilona,
whose dance name is La Cicciolina _
"the little Fleshy one," has acted in
more than 2CO porn flicks. Her other
job, as a Member of Parliament for the
6/Stiletto
sensual love: La Cicciolina
~dical Party, sees her fighting censorship and promoting legislation to save
the environment.
Born in Hungary of a minister father
and a gynecologist mother, she told
reporters before her show, with the aid
of an interpreter, that she believes that
"with love and sensuality I can return
peace to the world." She has often got~en ~ttention for her causes by appearmg m scanty costumes at press conferences and has most recently made
headlines by offering to sleep with
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein if he
agrees to free foreigners being held as
hostages.
She planned to visit Iraq after her
Winnipeg appearances and told
reporters, "I have an appointment, I go
there as an :MP, not an artist."
Notorious Mustang Ranch closes
After many years as the US's most
preeminent brothel, Mustang Ranch
has closed its doors due to bankruptcy.
At first there were reports that the US
government itself planned to run
Nevada's oldest legal whorehouse (located in Mustang, about 10 miles outside of Reno) until a buyer could be
found for it. But the state's health laws
force workers to be re-tested for sexually transmitted diseases every time they
return to a brothel and since the girls
had fled in response to rumours of an
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) raid,
the tax men couldn't get it operational
quickly and so decided to close it instead.
(Because of the Nevada testing law,
many US pros condemn places like
Mustang as virtual prisons and shun
the state despite the legalization of
prostitution there. Such legalization is
not to be confused with decriminalization which would force the cops to
treat prostitutes as they would any
other group of business people.)
Former Mustang owner Joe Conforte
was reported to owe $13 million in
back taxes. Conforte claimed that IRS
harassment killed a $5 million deal to
sell the brothel forcing him into
bankruptcy.
News from Down Under
According to the AIC' s report, in Victoria many women choose to work illegally rather than in the brothels because brothel owners take up to 60%
of clients fees.
Wife
whore
A woman in the city of Teramo in
central Italy filed assault charges
against her truck driver husband after
Doctors in Hamilton and Toronto have
recently seen ten cases of extreme sensitivity to latex in patients who
developed life-threatening allergic reactions comparable to those caused by
penicillin or bee stings in some people.
A report to the annual meeting of the
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons described the cases in which
patients suffered severe reactions to
particles of latex that got into their
bodies from doctors' gloves during
surgery.
The article pointed out that the risk
of such a reaction from condoms was
far less than the risk of contracting an
STD. But that is probably not much
comfort to a prostitute with such a sensitivity whose work requires constant
up when
out that, unknown to him, she was
working as a call girl, according to a
story from Associated Press.
The hypocritical husband apparently
found out about his wife's secret
profession when he showed up at an
exclusive bordello and asked to see a
woman who had been highly recommended to him by a friend. The
woman turned out to be his wife.
Chris Bearchell
exposure to latex condoms. Anyone
who finds her or himself in such a
situation one might want to consider
using lambskin condoms, which aren't
as good a barrier to STDs as latex is,
and sticking to hand jobs. Or blow
jobs, if they can stand to put the stinky
lambskin condoms in their mouths.
Like anyone who notices they have a
sensitivity to latex, a pro with this
problem should alert her or his MD or
dentist if they are going to have
surgery. It seems the good doctors can
get sterile gloves made out of something other than latex. Maybe we
should be finding out more about just
what these gloves are like in case we
find we need to demand that condoms
be made this way too.
Chris Bearchell
Speaking of legalized prostitution, the
latest issue of Working Girl, the
newsletter of the Prostitutes' Associa-
tion of South Australia, has a story
about a report from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) on
problems there.
In Melbourne, prostitutes complained
to AIC researchers about in-house
fines in brothels for things like not
matching nail polish on fingers and
toes.
The paper documented harassment in
Queensland "where prostitutes had
been arrested at supermarkets simply
for being prostitutes" and although
women can legally work from their
own homes in Queensland, police had
some pro's phones cut off.
I.S
Parkdale Community Legal Services
Our new address is:
165 Dufferin Street (south of King), Toronto, ON
531-2411
Monday
10 am to 6 pm
Tuesday
10 am to noon and 2 pm to 7:30 pm
Wednesday
2 pm to 6 pm
Thursday
noon to 7:30 pm
Stiletto/7
Tric or Treat
Fall is the time of year
when leaves change colour.
Fall is a loaded word
As in "I fell for you darlin'."
Don't kid yourself, honey,
We're fallen women
Here for the money.
Seein' squirrels scurry about
buryin' their nuts
reminds meGot to stash some cash for winter.
How's tricks?
An' the date is an old friend
October 31 Hallowe'en
You dress up as the real you
or be anybody you want to be.
Lots of cross dressers
do their first taste of bein' a girl
on All Hallows Eve.
The one night of the year
when kids can run free
talk to strangers
get sugar high.
On Hallowe'en
I always dressed as a witch.
ABAD GIRL
Back in the middle ages
they burned witches at the stake
tied the women
to a great big phallic pole
and burned them to death.
On Hallowe'en I remember our history.
Women who were different
who disobeyed the church
the independent, mouthy broads
punished for their SPUNK.
In modem stories
the witch is always scary and bad
or else they play her for some old,
forgetful fool.
They lie about us
But we know
Witches were healers
Women who worked with herbs
chanting meditations, riding
broomsticks, flying high.
And long ago in another time
the whore was a priestess.
We tricked in the temple
giving head and handjobs
riding our dildos, flying high
And they call us wicked from Wicca
for wise
Because we know
The Oldest Profession is a holy calling
Giving pleasure is healthy and healing
So Happy Hallowe'en
And Blessed Be
to all the BAD GIRLS who ever have
been
And forever will be
fallen
May you be bad
May the money be good
May the trick be a treat.
OOB (for Boo backwards).
Gwendolyn
October 1990
Wicked and wise:
Helen and Sasha.
Photo by Konnie Reich
Truth is hard to
hold
money is
cold mankind the matter
old with relevance haunting
the steps of flesh revealing
mysteries secreting wisdom
throughout human nature come
seek and you shall
find incredible and intangible the
ways of magic immense in the
making small packaging
the final undoing rise up take
up your bed and
walk
your faith has made you
whole
whore heart
Helen Posno/90
Freedom of screech
em
d
•
dra I g
by
In
Pos 0
this is the way god is
meeting each day
prepared and
preparing for love
lovers wandering
over the face of the
earth haunted and
haunting
that is
what god is
preparing to meet and
love and accept all fonns of
loneliness
Helen Posno/90
Stiletto/9
choosing things to
suit the purposes
selecting the purposes to
uphold the reasons
collecting the reasons to
maintain the precepts
claiming the precepts to
support the philosophies
hurling the philosophies to
foster the theories
nurturing theories to
cultivate the laws
declaring the laws to
question realities
Helen Posno/90
r
r
F
or those of you who haven't been
to Europe, let me tell you, everything you've ever heard about it is
true. I travelled a few of the major
centres of the "old world" and fell in
love, with the sights, the sounds and
the people. Being there for a month
was barely enough to absorb everything. But it was just enough to get a
good taste of a very relaxed society.
Amsterdam was the first stop on my
agenda. Mainly known for its legalizing of prostitution and drugs and
refusal of architectural alteration causing any of the original buildings to be
demolished. it's a beautiful little town,
quaint and friendly. People told me it
would be filthy and garbage ridden, I
didn't find it so terrible (they obvious. ly have never been to New York).
The RedLight District is just that.
Red lights line the streets as if it were
Christmas. It's the perfect place for
window shopping. You pass houses
with wide, open windows and in each
is a girl in sexy lingerie - usually
white to be accentuated by the black
light above their lavish perch. In the
same area are theatres where they have
live sex shows. I didn't get a chance to
see one, but judging from the pictures
outside, I figured they must be something else.
So, if you're looking for a place
where you would be able to vacation
and pay for trip at the same time, I
highly recommend Amsterdam.
Paris is a majestic city - definitely
the capital of Europe. It is quite expensive, but well worth it, in the downtown area anyway. Now, as far as
work, the girls seemed to be everywhere. They're quite discrete and judging from the way they're dressed are
doing extremely well.
The mother-tongue of course is
French. The Parisiennes aren't really
that stuck up, they just prefer you to
speak French. But if they like you
photo by Chris Bearchell
10/Stiletto
enough they'll speak English, because
most do. And if they know you're
Canadian they're even more amiable.
All in all, Paris is tolerant of our business affairs. I didn't get a chance to inquire about its laws on the subject, but
I'm sure there is really no difficulties.
Barcelona is really tropical, situated
on the Mediterranean it's quite beautiful as well but you're more aware of
the poverty that resides there. The
people speak Spanish and Catalane (a
language very similar to French in writing but not when pronounced) and almost no English. I found it difficult to
get along for that reason.
Prostitution is used more for a means
of survival, than an actual business,
due to the lack of jobs and high cost of
living. A girl can make about $10-20,
a boy about $5 (Canadian currency).
So I wouldn't recommend working
there since people practically give it
away.
I had planned to also go
to Germany, Italy and
England. But I bit off
more than I could chew
with the places I'd gone
to. But I did get a chance
to talk to people who
were vacationing from
those places, and found
out some useful information. Germany is very
tolerant to prostitution
and quite abundant
money wise. It helps also
to specialize in certain
things such as S&M or
B&D.
Our work is legal in
Italy, but it is best to
work through houses or
agencies, otherwise there
isn't much money to be
made. Work is abundant
in England as well but
it's highly risky. The
Vice Squad is everywhere. (Sound familiar?).
Erik
OLDEST
PROFESSION
TIMES
A newsletter published by 90's
Ladies and Friends, a group
working for the repeal of laws
against prostitutes.
OPT, l 125-9thStreet,
Sacramento, CA, 95814 USA
Working
Girl
A magazine published by the
Prostitutes Association of
South Australia (PASA).
PASA
PO Box 7072, Hutt Street
Adelaide 5000
Australia
th
W
ith all the talk about Ottawa's
. . new tax, I couldn't help wondenng if the federal Tories are prepared to admit that the government of
Canada wants to "live off the avails?"
I called the GST enquiries number. A
machine put me on hold and told me,
in English and French, that my call
would be answered as soon as possible. Then Sandra answered. She
snickered when I explained that I was
writing about the GST for Stiletto and who the newsletter is for.
She put me on hold when I asked if
pros had been calling to find out if the
tax applies to sexual services. She said
I'd have to get that information from
someone in Ottawa then gave me a
wrong number there. I got the machine
again when I called back to get the
right number, then another person
(who didn't say his name) put me on
hold to find Sandra and, in the process,
I got cut off. That's what I get for calling the government.
I finally got through to Gordon Lee
at Revenue Canada in Ottawa. He
spluttered when he heard my question
and answered sarcastically "All services are taxable. If the madam of the
house wants to register with Revenue
Canada ... " I interrupted him and explained that working in a brothel is illegal under the bawdy house laws, so
most of Canada's prostitutes work as
independent freelancers. Lee
responded that it didn't matter that
prostitution was illegal, it was still taxable. I explained that prostitution per
se was not illegal, just communicating
for it in public and working in brothels
- but such subtleties were oqviously
lost on him.
I made one more stab at trying to get
useful information. I said that I understood that certain health care services
were exempt from the GST and asked
if that included the services of sexual
surrogates. He replied indignantly that
Stiletto/11
I was "getting a bit intimate." Clearly
he wouldn't have been able to answer
if I had asked him if the GST would
apply to the poor premature ejaculator
or the guy who pays for sex but then
can't get it up.
•
I pieced together what I was able to
find out in all these conversations.
Here it is:
A freelancer in any profession is required to register with Revenue
Canada and charge Goods and Services Tax if they earn more than
$30,000 a year. To register as a freelancer, you fill out a form which you can
get from the Post Office. Or you can
have it sent to you by Revenue Canada
(if you can stand to go through the
hassle of trying to get a hold of them).
The form comes with a little booklet
that's supposed to help you decide
whether or not you should register.
The form asks you to briefly describe
your business activity.
I was able to ask Sandra whether a
description like entertainer, consultant,
or artist would be good enough? She
said that they might want to know
more but, since the regulations haven't
been applied before, she wasn't sure
so, "you could try and see."
I asked if the new tax law will say
which services are or are not taxable?
Sandra said that there is a list of some
services which are not taxable and
gave the example of health care and
educational services. Escorts, prostitutes, artists, consultants, and entertainers are not on the list of exemptions. So, if in the past you have filed
yo~r taxes in any_ of those categories,
or 1f you plan to m the future, the
government wants you to collect taxes
for them on your services.
It would seem that the federal Tories
have no problem at all with "living off
the avails of prostitution" - as long as
they're the ones who get the bucks!
Chris Bearchell
PSSP goes to Cabbagetown's Festival '90
Pro tit tes t th Fall Fair
G
wendolyn looked as tense as I
was as she hurried toward me
from across the park. I had already
cased the grounds with my little girl in
tow.
The day was busy, crisp and bright
Everyone in Toronto seemed to be out
to thoroughly enjoy the festivities of
the well-publicized Cabbagetown Fall
Festival '90:
Gwendo's and my anxiety
would seem out of place on
such a day as this. The
uplifting mood of the
numerous artists and sellers
whose booths wound
through the parks and
streets certainly dispelled
any feelings of tenseness in
the day. Families flocked
together up and down to
view creative works and
goods on display.
Gwendolyn hurried us
back to the meeting place. I
could see Alexandre, puffing worriedly over a
cigarette.
I do believe in all of our
hearts, we were feeling
more than slightly out of
place. Family day at the festival is somewhat questionable grounds for the establishment of a Prostitute
Information booth. Our decision had
been made, however, to follow through
with our contribution to the public, and
when prostitutes are ready to work,
work they do.
We loaded our table and chairs along
with posters and goods to a fairly
respectful location. We somehow felt
that setting up our red light between
the lemonade stand and the corn roast
line up wouldn't go over too big. Business might have bee stickier than the
discrete side street we chose.
We busied ourselves with the work of
stringing up our lovely red light from a
near-by tree. We propped up our
posters and covered our table with condoms and literature. Our famous buttons were displayed as well.
Needless to say, by this time we were
getting some interesting looks from the
passersby. Ours was not a used clothing booth, easily approached.
For all of you hos our there who've
been receiving your literature, con-
doms and buttons free from us, you'll
be pleased to know that we charged
the public for buttons and Stiletto. A
buck a throw.
After setting up our display,
Alexandre had to leave us to attend
another of the numerous conferences
where we represent the many people in
our profession.
Shortly after however, we were
joined by Chrissy who brought more
goodies to sell.
Then, strangely, they all left me.
Even my daughter. Errands here and
there, things to do places to go. They
did come back a little while later. In
the meantime, there I was, all alone.
12/Stiletto
Me and my whore booth. At least I
was ready for action. My pop and comon-the-cob would be coming along
soon. Time to relax and get ready.
My first prospect was lurking and
pacing right across the street. I gave
him the wink and he scurried toward
me, head bent low, eyes shifting from
back and forth. I engaged him in light
safe sex conversation for
quite a while. It was a necessary ice breaker for other
people, seeing someone else
talking so openly with an advertised prostitute. People
came slowly but surely, and
then, steadily.
Older people, wiser than
the middle-aged. More able
to speak freely. Very
pleased to see us. The
remarks were animated,
from "It's about time," to
"What's really happening
out there?"
A close running to our
seniors were straight
women. Perhaps curious,
but mostly truly interested
in what we had to say, and
offer. Stiletto sales were a
big hit with the women.
Young people came. Some
of them after walking past
us five or six times. They wanted to
know what was going on. Needless to
say they walked away with a few free
condoms. Hopefully with an ingrained
message on how to use them.
Men came, HA HA, and left with condoms.
Button sales were big with everyone.
We had our token drunk for the day.
He drew a little more business just by
being there, but we had to get rid of
him. A few times. Sadly he left his
cigarettes behind on his last trip out.
We considered it payment for dealing
with all his bullshit.
We shared with
people from many
walks of life. There was
a school teacher we
talked with quite extensively. Later, after we
closed our booth, I
walked through the festival grounds with my
daughter. I saw this
teacher sitting off to
one side from people.
He was propped up
against a tree, quietly
reading Stiletto. I
watched him for quite
some time, just contemplating, I think. He
had earlier made his
concern
our uneducated, unworldly
young people very clear to us. Nobody
wants anybody to contract AIDS.
Would school-going people listen
more closely to whores than to
teachers in an auditorium? Perhaps the
freedom of speech we offered during
our display in Cabbagetown struck a
note with him.
With all professionals and the many
parents who came to us with their
children we believe we struck more .
than a note.
It was suddenly okay to talk about
everything with us. To ask anything,
and be answered, straight ahead.
Sasha
"communicating for the purposes of prostitution"
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And help us keep on communicating.
I/we want to help CORP keep on communicating.
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Telephone:-----------------------Please mail this form and your cheque or money order, payable to Stiletto, to:
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L-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~
Stiletto/13
Rent it for your next video party
Personal Services is brilliant
Personal Services is a recently released
video directed by Terry Jones. It is set
in London, England in the late '70s to
late '80s. Taken from the life story of
Cynthia Payne, it's a factual, realistic,
plus positive look at prostitution in a
conservative, hypocritical city.
Julie Waters, who's been in movies
such as Educating Rita, Monty
Python's The Life of Brian and The
Holy Grail, is cast in the leading role.
In this comedy/drama she gives a
hilariously incorrigible, yet worming
performance of being a sex worker, in
a sexually suppressed society.
It all begins when she discovers that
the lady she cleans house for once a
week is a prostitute (dominatrix style),
due to the frequent visits of gentlemen
while the lady is on holiday. Assuming
that she herself is in the business, the
men blatantly ask her of her
availability. At first shocked and appalled as any proper English lady
would be (guffaw), she refuses them.
At the same time, she finds that she's
quite intrigued by the idea of sex for
money and thus slowly works her way
into becoming a successful sex worker,
then later an entrepreneurial Madame.
Written by David Leland, of Mona
Lisa fame, it's a brilliant rendition of
an existence we indoor pros are all
quite familiar with, therefore I feel you
will agree with most of the contents of
this film.
And maybe, just maybe, it '11 give you
some fun new ideas for home and
office.
Erik
Hassl Fre
linic
for birth control and sexually transmitted diseases
566 Church St., at Wellesley, 2nd floor, Ste. 2
Women's Clinic
hours:
phone 922-0566
Mon, Wed, Fri - 10 am to 3 pm
Tues & Thurs - 4 pm to 8 pm
If you've been assaulted,
harassed or ripped-off by a
date, call us anytime and
tell us what happened I
th~ incident only.
STD drop-in (no appointment necessary)
YOU DON'T HAVE TO
GIVE US ANY
INFORMATION ABOUT
YOURSELF.
Tues & Thurs - 4pm to 6pm
hours:
lists are updated weekly
and are distributed on fhe
street by the staff of the
Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project.
We ask for detai Is about
by appointment
Men's Clinic
THIS IS A LIST
OF BAD DATES.
WATCH OUT FOR THEM,
AND AVOID THEM!
phone 922-0603
Mon & Wed - 4 pm to 9 pm
Tues & Thurs - 10 am to 2 pm
Fri - 4 pm to 7 pm
Sat - 1 O am to 2 pm
no appointment necessary
Free and confidential health care services.
Hassle Free does anonymous HIV testing.
14/Stiletto
760-3752
A FREE SERVla - 24 HOURS
LEGAL
SERVICES
• Legal Aid:
Old City Hall - 598-0200
College Park - 598-1260
University A venue - 598-0200
• Parkdale Community Legal
Services - 531-2411
(See ad for hours.)
• Neighbourhood Legal Services
- 961-2625
• Justice for Children (under 18
years old) - 920-1633
• Lawline - 978-7293
• Dial-a-law - 947-3333
• Lawyer Referral Service
(includes free 1-hour
consultation) - 947-3330
Pissed off with your lawyer?
Call CORP at 964-0150, leave a
message on our answering
machine, and we '11 get back to
you as soon as we can. We can
help you find the kind of legal
advice you need.
• Hassle Free Clinic - 556
Church St,
Men - 922-0603,
Women - 922-0566.
(See ad for hours.)
• Niagara Neighbourhood
Health Centre - 674 Queen St
w, 363-2021.
• Parkdale Community Health
Centre - 1257 Queen St \V,
537-2455.
•St.Lawrence Health Service 45 Lower Jarvis St, 864-6000.
• Street Health (free nursing
services) - at
All Saints Church, Open Door,
315 Dundas E, Tues 2-4 pm.
Or Fred Victor Mission at
Queen and Jarvis Wed 5-7.
863-1610.
• South Riverdale Community
Health Centre - 126 Pape Ave,
461-2493.
• The House (planned parenthood youth clinic) 36B Prince
Arthur, 927-7171.
• The Works (needle exchange) 660 Dundas Street W, 392-0520
• City hostel (for families) 674 Dundas W, 392-5500.
• Covenant House (Catholic; for
men and women under 21)
- 70 Gerrard E, 593-4849.
• 416 (drop-in for women;
daytime) - 416 Dundas E, ·
928-3334.
• Nellie's (for women) - 275A
Broadview, 461-1084.
• Robertson House (for women)
- 291 Sherbourne, 392-5650.
• Seaton House (for single men)
- 339 George St, 392-5522.
• Stop 86 (for women under 21)
- 922-3271.
• Street Haven (for women) 87 Pembroke, 967-6060.
FOOD
BANKS
Daily Bread Food Bank will tell
you locations of food banks
near you. 769-5155.
HEALTH
SERVICES
• AIDS Committee of Toronto 926-1626.
• Alexandra Park Community
Health Service - 64 Augusta,
364-4107.
• Bay Centre for Birth Control 901 Bay St, 920-1263.
• Birth Control and VD
Information Centre - 2828
Bathurst, 789-4541.
• Davenport-Perth Community
Health Centre - 1944 Davenport, 658-6812.
I
,-----------------------
•••
'
T!
Most prostitutes use condoms with our tricks, but like so many other people, some of us think we do not need
to use condoms with our lovers. Many people get AIDS from lovers they think are healthy - from lovers
who don't know themselves that they are carrying the virus.
If someone will not use condoms with you, chances are they have had sex with other people without a condom. People are not always honest about what they did before you met them.
A lot of people get AIDS from sharing a needle when using drugs.
If you shoot drugs, do not share a needle with anybody, not even a lover. If you do not have your own
needle, clean the needle first. Draw bleach into the needle and squirt it out a couple of times to kill viruses
and germs. Then do the same thing with water.
For more info, call ACT 926-1626, Public Health 392-AIDS, or Hassle Free Clinic 922-0603/922-0566.
Produced by the Prostitutes' Safe Sex Project (PSSP), Box 1143, Station F, Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8.
PSSP can be reached at (416) 964-0150.