Photo exhibit gives sex workers a voice

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It’s called a photovoice exhibit — nine sex workers or former sex workers were given disposable cameras, and told to go out and take photos of things that were somehow important to them.

Then they wrote a blurb about the photos.

The photos really tell their stories and the point of the whole exercise is to help the broader community think of the photographers as people, rather than just sex workers.

One woman took this photo to show how unsafe she feels when the Barton area pay phones are turned off at midnight. It was a striking image for social planner Deirdre Pike.

“That was put in place to stop women from accessing clients, but it also stops women from accessing safe responses from dangerous clients.”

Discarded condoms look almost like a flower in the snow in this shot. The photographer writes that she loves to see them, because it means people are taking care of themselves. They care.

“There’s some really sad pictures… and some joyful.”

Andrea, a former sex worker, took most of her photos from behind the windshield of her car.

“I had bought myself a car for my birthday & I felt proud to say, I’m the one driving now.”

“I could feel the emotion in all of us as we explained it. It’s real and raw when you’re looking at those photos”

“I was passing on that I’m still the same person and I walk down the same streets, but just in a different way.”

“This really got started when the stadium district was chosen to host part of the Pan Am games. The city started talking to residents, and one of the biggest concerns in the neighbourhood was the impact of sex workers.”

“I was really surprised at how quickly the tone of the conversation changed from, those women over there, to these are women in our neighbourhood.”

The photo exhibit is designed to give these women a voice in the neighbourhood.

“I’m still me. it’s very humbling.”

The event details are as follows:
PHOTOVOICE
TUESDAY JANUARY 27 6:30-8:30PM
ELIZABETH FRY SOCIETY
ST GILES CHURCH
85 HOLTON AVE. SOUTH