Sex Workers Action Group

The Sex Worker Action Group (SWAG) is a sex positive group run by sex workers, people with lived experience, allies, and agency members who strive to improve the lives of sex workers in Kingston and the surrounding area.

Open to:

• Current and former sex workers of all genders, from all sectors
• Supporters of sex workers who share SWAG’s values and beliefs

Goals
• To provide practical, emotional, community, and legal support to sex workers
• To sensitize and educate the public and local service agencies about sex work
• To fight discrimination and stigma associated with sex work
• To promote the decriminalization of sex work

Beliefs and Values
• Sex work can be consensual, legitimate, valuable, honourable, important, and real work, but SWAG also recognizes that this is not the case for all sex exchanges
• Sex workers are the experts of the industry and their own lives, and must be actively and meaningfully included in all areas of services and policy development
• Sex workers deserve the same legal, human, and labour rights as any other persons in Canada including, but not limited to adequate standards of living and the provision of social and health services
• Sex workers need to be able to access public services without discrimination or judgement
• The decriminalization of sex work is imperative to the health, safety, and well being of sex workers

Why Decriminalization?
• Decriminalization is the removal of all prostitution-related offences from the Criminal Code for consenting adults
• Decriminalization improves the safety, security, working conditions, and autonomy of sex workers
• Decriminalization allows sex workers to more easily access health and legal services without fear of being charged with prostitution related offenses
• Decriminalization decreases the social stigma and discrimination of sex workers
• If sex work was decriminalized, the laws which protect sex workers would still exist (e.g. laws on extortion, coercion, forcible confinement, assault, sexual assault, threatening, child exploitation, etc.)

Please contact Tina at 587-724-1064 with any questions or to support us.