by SASHA

Montreal has a resilient and internationally respected network of politically active sex workers, and a group of them, collectively known as Stella, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. As anybody knows, the best way to kick off a celebration is to call up the ladies of ill repute, and Stella has dialled the universal agency.

Their XXX Forum, a three-day conference for sex workers and a few select allies, will feature 200 of their colleagues from as far afield as New Zealand, Thailand, India, Argentina, Sweden and Israel. They'll be banding together to discuss work issues as they pertain to their respective countries, focusing on laws, the sex worker in society, personal safety and health.

They'll take stock of what the international sex workers' rights movement has achieved to date and all they have to accomplish in the future. Naturally, they'll be carousing as well, doing what all conference-goers do when they're in Montreal: hitting the peelers.

Working girls

Along with this historic event, Stella's decade of political action and community service is something for a city that enjoys a reputation as a hub of sensual, political and cultural independence to commend. A quick perusal of the Stella Web site - a clearinghouse of relevant information for all sex workers and those studying the trade from ivory towers - shows an organization that has galvanized and evolved with its ever-changing community. A variety of pamphlets available to sex workers, covering topics like work safety and stress management, are printed in French, English, Inuit and, for the growing East European contingent, Romanian.

They are dedicated to outreach, providing in-club hep A and B vaccines to working strippers, as well as offering health clinics for all sex workers and drop-in hours to talk with counsellors. Their director, Claire Thiboutot, was recently honoured by the Farha Foundation for her work in HIV and AIDS education. They've won accolades for their educational booklets, and produced a video and pamphlets for clients as well, guiding them through safe and seemly behaviour.

Stella also publishes a biannual and prize-winning magazine called Constellation, which includes interviews, tips, historical facts about the trade, fiction, personal anecdotes and art.

Bursting agenda

The XXX Forum is Stella's most ambitious project to date, though they've held similar but smaller events in the past. The agenda is full to bursting with some of the world's most outspoken activists. Present will be Thai sex worker radical, Pornpit Puckmai of Empower, who recently won a National Thai Human Rights Award for her efforts. Thai sex workers are dealing with more than just the usual stresses at the moment - among them, unwelcome "rescues" by abolitionists, which often land them in destitute and dangerous situations.

"Recently, they have all rallied behind their sister sex workers hit by the tsunami, offering financial support to those who can no longer make a living since the beach areas were struck," says forum organizer Anna Louise Crago via e-mail. Given the strenuous conditions under which they work, many third-world activists have a remarkable sense of cheer and purpose - Empower's slogan is "Can't Be Nice All The Time" and Guatemalan prostitutes, who won't be present at the forum, have their own soccer league. Indian activists from the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC), the largest sex-worker organization in the world, and one with a vital focus on HIV and AIDS edification, are highly anticipated guest speakers.

According to Jenn Clamen of Stella, they've also had a thing or two to say about the film Born Into Brothels, and nothing near the glowing reviews the directors received by the press and Hollywood. Members of the DMSC were unaware that their children were being filmed, and many found the portrayal of mothers eager to introduce their children to the trade exaggerated.

Fights, rights, parties

Meanwhile, back at the chicken ranch, local abolitionists Sisyphe have begun their indictment against the forum and have sent out press releases making a somewhat misleading stink about the way Stella is funding it. Like many similar organizations, Stella receives government funding through their HIV education programs. Sisyphe is saying that the Public Health Agency of Canada is taking a position by funding organizations like Stella, and that they are funding Stella with HIV money to do rights work for sex workers. They claim that organizations like Stella have too much money, and that they're using AIDS money to promote the decriminalization of the sex industry, as well as accusing the government of giving money to the wrong people, and of supporting decriminalization.

There has been some suggestion of government funding being used for the parties that Stella is holding during the forum as well, when in fact, these events have a cover charge at the door.

It takes some kind of lady to hold down two emotionally demanding jobs like sex work and sex work activism. In Montreal, arrests are higher than ever (715 for solicitation in 2004 compared to 38 in 2003), anti-prostitution citizens' groups abound, violence is often present and overlooked, and cops patrol the stroll relentlessly. (A recent incident really put this in perspective when I made the mistake of walking down the steps late at night to St-Christophe Street from Sherbrooke in a leopard print coat and black stiletto boots and was sandwiched in by two police cars immediately).

The more the term "global village" is bandied about, the more we have sex workers to look to for providing an estimable example of making this work. They are sisters and brothers around the world united in their struggle, no matter what their colour, gender, age or orientation. As part of this worker-oriented community, and simply in and of itself, Stella is truly one of Montreal's best organizations.