Sex worker survey offers rare glimpse into risks, needs of those often forced into shadows

In the 20 years that she's been a sex worker, Tyler Cuddahy says she's mostly worked on the streets in Vancouver, and for a few years online. But now, for her own safety, she sees clients at home, where she can assess them through a chain-locked door before letting them in.

Risk is still a major concern, she says.

"As a trans adult I work more with the straight population — the guys who are questioning their sexuality. My last one left me pretty scarred," said Cuddahy, describing how she says her last client started beating her after he "realized he had to go back home to his wife."

"He left me pretty much bleeding."

How to make sex work safer is at the core of a new survey of 239 sex workers in southwestern B.C. that offers a glimpse into the needs and risks they faced during the pandemic.

The By Us, For Us (BUFU) research project was developed and written by the Metro Vancouver Consortium, a group of advocacy organizations which included PACE, the WISH Drop in Centre Society and the Health Initiative for Men (HIM). It was funded by the City of Vancouver's Emergency Community Support Fund.

The research was designed with the help of sex workers to assess the needs and risks on the Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island. Surveys were conducted from April to August of 2021. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA-BC) advised and helped with media outreach.

"Sex workers' voices were present throughout the entire process — it was a very unique aspect," said Sylvia Machat, the lead evaluator of the project.

WATCH | Cuddahy describes her attack:

In the survey, participants called for a variety of safeguards, including safer washrooms, housing, better health care access, and Indigenous-centred services that employ elders on site. They said ideal licensed working environments would help them refuse unsafe clients who refuse to wear a condom or give them a bad "vibe."

A majority of survey participants also reported having a disability.

"For me, [that's] the biggest standout," said Machat, who said the disabilities ranged from mental health issues to a brain injury, and noted that most of the participants also experienced oppression from racism and gender diversity issues.

Study participants called for better mental health supports, as they are struggling to deal with everything from violence within the industry, hate-based threats, intimate partner violence, addictions, the fallout of residential schools, refugee experiences, and depression and anxiety.

"This is definitely a big gap in the services that sex workers need to be able to access," said Machat.