week #5 - economic marginality and survival crimes

Question 1

explain economic marginalization

Answer 1

Overt & covert trends within society whereby those lacking desirable traits or who deviate
from social norms are excluded from legitimate market place.

Question 2

explain the racialized fminization of poverty

Answer 2

–Pink-collar jobs, part-time /contract work, low-skilled, lack living wage.
•41% of Canadian women involved in non-standard labour .

Question 3

what are canadian women’s experiences with poverty and marginalization

Answer 3

24% of single mothers
– 5x likely to be poor
• 14 % of single older women
– Poverty rate 13x higher
• Women - 60% of minimum wage earners
• 44% of off-reserve Aboriginal women
• 47% of on-reserve aboriginal women

Racialized Feminization of Poverty
• CSC – Drug-related offences = 30% of federally sentenced women vs. 18% of federally
sentenced men
• Prison Population: poor, minority, uneducated, single parents
• “Bad Mothers” – doubly deviant
– Violate gender roles, law
– War on drugs, war on abortion, war on women’s reproductive rights
• Neo-liberal agenda
– Individualized responsibility
– Deflects attention from structural issues
Criminalization of Poverty
• Measures
• Welfare cuts
• Deserving vs. Undeserving
• “Never Deserving”
• “Double Taxonomy”
– Expanded Privatization & Increased Regulation

Question 4

3 types of sex workers

Answer 4

•Call Girl
–Attractive, educated, high income.
•In-Call Sex Workers (hi-track)
–Brothel, massage parlour, erotic dancers.
•Streetwalkers (low-track)
–Lowest pay, low status, low class.

Question 5

what role does choice play in sex work

Answer 5

• Copresent Interaction:
• Agency & victimization linked
• ‘McJob’ vs. Sex work
• “Making do” or “What has to be done”
• “Although women represent themselves as active participants in prostitution, they do not
‘choose’ many of the interactions that take place, nor do they ‘choose’ the conditions under
which actions occur” (Sanchez).

Question 6

explain homelessness and sex work

Answer 6

•50% of Sex Workers.
•Alternate Housing :
-- Rely on “Friends”
–Shelter System
–Going to Curb
–Rely on Men
•Old Men
•Freakhouses
–Other Commercial settings / Shooting Galleries

Question 7

what is survival sex

Answer 7

Selling of sex to meet basic needs
• 10-50% of homeless/runaway youth
• Survival sex positively related to

Question 8

drug abus and sex work

Answer 8

• Not a simple cause and effect relationship
• Drugs a coping method
• 87% of sex workers use drugs while engaged in sex work.
• Drug sub-culture - Supplement income
• Many are polydrug users

Question 9

explan violence and sex work

Answer 9

• Date Violence:
– Prevalence: ¾ have experienced
– Incidence:
– 50% have experienced in last year
– 1/3 within the last 30 days
– Likelihood of violence increases with:
• Being high on the job, having sex in a car, “young strangers”, picking up a date at a
bar, & economic desperation.

Question 10

what are strategies for protection

Answer 10

•Strategies for Protection
–Carry Weapons
–Remain Sober
–Trust Instincts
–Have a Partner
–Following Rules of the Street
–Don’t Rush

Question 11

human trafficking in canada

Answer 11

Who- 14 -25, vulnerable, econ challenged, socially dislocated
• How- acquaintance/Internet recruitment, ‘romantic relationship’, isolation, confinement,
violence
• Nordic Model
• Supply = 98% of sex-trafficking victims – females
• Control, Exploitation and $$$
• Bill C- 36