Publications and Research
PEERS staff provides information to former and current Sex Trade workers on training programs, other government programs and appropriate community resources. We document the needs of Sex Trade workers, young and adult, in relation to education, training, employment, support, housing and health. PEERS helps to identify barriers to existing programs that sex trade workers encounter and attempts to assist in overcoming these barriers. PEERS strives to develop new services to meet identified needs. We encourage feedback from Sex Trade workers as our programs and our organization as a whole is completely accountable to them.
Behind Closed Doors: Summary of Findings
November 2008
The goal of this three-year study was to connect with a minimum of 88 indoor sex workers on a number of subjects ranging from how they like their current workplace to specifics on working conditions, possible presence of sexually exploited youth, and barriers to making a transition to mainstream work and culture. This report provides insights into a highly secretive but well-developed industry that employs thousands of British Columbians.
Behind Closed Doors: Summary of Findings [104KB PDF]
"Dispelling Myths and Understanding Realities—
Working Conditions, Health Status, and Exiting
Experiences of Sex Workers"
This study began with training ex-sex workers as research assistants who became involved in activities ranging from recruiting respondents, interviewing them, inputting questionnaire data , and transcribing tape recorded interviews creating a genuine community-academic collaboration. The sample included 160 female, 36 male and 5 transgendered sex workers for a total of 201 respondents. Of the total, 147 were currently active and 54 were exited from the trade. The research looks at the sex trade from a work perspective, arguing that there is an urgent need to give voice to sex workers located in indoor as well as outdoor venues.
The key findings showed that: For the vast majority of the respondents, the sex trade is their main means of making a living; those working on the street experience comparatively less occupational control and more harassment than counterparts located in indoor venues; sex workers operating out of their own homes are in the best relative position to determine their own cost of labour, net earnings, pace of work, clientele and the sex activities performed; the criminal nature of the sex trade in Canada has a dramatic impact on workers’ rights and safety; the majority of respondents report that their health is not what they would like it to be; only a minority of respondents escape from their situations through the use of illicit addictive substances; even those who have permanently exited continue to struggle with mental health and related problems; respondents said they are in need of a variety of frontline and preventive health services; and, they describe themselves as active agents with varying degrees of control over their work and health rather than as mere victims.
"Dispelling the Myths and Understanding Realities"
[60k PDF (short report)]
Impossible Eh? The Story of PEERS
This is the story of one group of sex trade workers who decided they wanted a choice and set out to create one for themselves. It includes several perspectives and provides both a historical overview and detailed information on how PEERS works for communities who are interesting creating their own organization.
"Impossible Eh? The Story of PEERS" [1.5MB PDF]
Is Anyone Listening? A Gender Analysis of Sex Trade Work
Through the support of Status of Women Canada, PEERS has done a gender analysis of the sex trade. We held a series of focus groups to find out the differences and similarities for men and women in the trade. The final report is now complete and available at our main office.
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