ABSTRACT
This chapter examines homicides of sex workers in British Columbia from 1964 to 1998. It reveals the relationships among media, law, political hypocrisy and violence against street prostitutes. The chapter discusses how the "discourse of disposal" that is, media descriptions of the ongoing attempts of politicians, police and residents groups to "get rid" of street prostitution from residential areas may have contributed to a sharp increase in homicides of street prostitutes after 1980. The 1996 Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics report on Homicide in Canada noted that, "Some occupations involve more personal risk to personal safety than others". As street prostitution strolls did not develop in any of the municipalities surrounding Vancouver until the early 1990s, and initially only in Surrey if not all of the street prostitution victims found in the lower mainland worked in Vancouver. The chapter describes that the main obstacles to creating safer working conditions for prostitutes are the prohibition of prostitution and stigmatization of prostitutes.
