Team Grant on contexts of vulnerabilities, resiliencies and care among people in the sex industry

While Canadians place a premium on personal safety and health, and on universal access to the services needed to maintain health, the safety net provided by universal health care, as well as other social, legal, and economic policies, does not adequately protect the women, men and transgendered individuals who work in the most unregulated and impoverished environments of the sex industry. The issue of violence among this vulnerable population has recently gained more media attention after the sentencing of Robert Pickton in 2007 for the multiple murders of women involved in street-based sex work in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Yet it is unclear what forms of policy and legislation will be most effective for helping to prevent violence and victimization among sex workers and to support the diverse health and safety needs of people involved in this industry. Our research program draws together a multi-sectoral team of scholars, trainees and community partners who have worked for over two decades to raise public awareness about these issues. The team will work collaboratively to: i) design and implement the research program; ii) carry out targeted research to fill in critical information gaps; and, iii) design, implement and evaluate knowledge translation strategies, policies and related programs.