Bias Against Sex Workers Let Serial Killer Murder 21 Women

In 1997, a Canadian sex worker in the Vancouver area escaped Robert Pickton's attempt to murder her, arriving at a hospital riddled with stab wounds and then spending four days in an unconscious state. She still had on a handcuff used to confine her, the key to which was discovered on Pickton's person. Yet Pickton was never tried for attempted murder and forcible confinement, and he went on to kill at least 6 more women, and a suspected 21 in all.

Why was the case stayed? Because the woman in question was not considered a "credible witness." She was, after all, a sex worker.

The women murdered by Robert Pickton were sex workers and drug addicts. An editorial in the Globe and Mail concludes, "His victims were all apparently considered nobodies, and so they were treated like nobodies." Due to a decision that six murder convictions and life behind bars is quite enough, Pickton will not be prosecuted for the other murders, which meant that court documents could be released revealing that 21 women could have been saved had one sex worker been believed.

The survivor in question clearly suffered serious physical violence to her person; there should have been no doubt that a crime was committed. But the case didn't even go to trial because her profession made her not a "credible witness." Sex workers, not just in Canada but across the globe, are especially vulnerable to violence and are frequently discriminated against or attacked by the police themselves. When they report crimes they are disbelieved and often harassed.

The Globe editorial further criticizes, "The criminal justice system is not just for those with resources and status." From delayed investigations to failures to prosecute, it becomes clear that there is no justice system for sex workers in Canada. And this led 21 women to die.

Twenty-one human beings died unnecessarily. And while law enforcement might have considered these women to be nobodies because they were vulnerable, because they sold their bodies or were addicted to drugs, these were real people with the same right to life as anybody else. They were all somebodies. The criminal justice system, in any country, should recognize that.

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