Translated by Chloé Sautter-Léger

Sunday, the provincial feminist organisation Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ) declared its position recognizing prostitution as work to which women consent.

Gabrielle Bouchard, the president of the FFQ, explained last week that the organization wanted to “nudge its feminist approach” by adopting a non judgmental attitude towards the sex industry, taking inspiration from the intersectional theory of oppression.

For instance, by adopting this position, the FFQ aims to favour the health and safety of sex workers.

In the past, the FFQ had not wanted to take sides in the debate over this issue, particularly because of the lack of consensus among feminist movements.

During the assemblée générale extraordinaire (AGE), about 150 of the FFQ members present voted, with a majority in favour of the controversial proposition that recognizes the “agency of women in the sex industry, including the consent to their activities.”

The director of Stella said: “We receive this motion as a message from the members of the FFQ who want us to be included in the [feminist] movement.”

However, the Concertation des luttes contre l’exploitation sexuelle (CLES), which fights to put an end to prostitution, is fiercely against this decision. Jennie-Laure Sully, the community organizer at CLES, expressed that “According to us, a larger social effort has to be made in order to envision a society in which consent is not a commodity that can be bought.”

Reference
https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/540114/la-prostitution-reconnue-comme-un-travail?utm_campaign=Autopost&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1540808956  

Source
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