An awkward silence missing and murdered vulnerable women and the Canadian justice system

Summary: The murders and suspicious disappearances of women across Canada over the past forty years have received considerable national attention in the past decade. The disappearances and murders of scores of women in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba have highlighted the vulnerability of women to extreme violence. Girls and women of Aboriginal ethnicity have been disproportionally affected in all of these cases and have high rates of violent victimization. The current socio-economic situation faced by Aboriginal women contributes to this. To provide publicly available data of missing and murdered women in Canada, a database was created containing details of 3,329 women, including 824 who are Aboriginal. There are key risk factors that increase the probability of experiencing lethal violence: street prostitution, addiction and insecure housing. The vast majority of sex workers who experience lethal violence are street prostitutes. The dissertation examines the legal status and forms of prostitution in Canada and internationally, as well as the individual and societal impacts of prostitution. A review of current research on violence and prostitution is presented. The thesis provides summaries from 150 serial homicide cases targeting prostitutes in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. The trends and questions posed by these cases are identified. The cases of the missing women of Vancouver and Robert Pickton are detailed. The key findings from the provincial inquiry into the missing women cases and an analysis of the most egregious failings of the investigations (Projects Amelia and Evenhanded) are discussed. Frequently encountered challenges and common errors, as well as investigative opportunities and best practices of police, and other initiatives and recommendations aimed at non-police agencies are evaluated. The three other RCMP-led projects, KARE, DEVOTE and E-PANA, which are large, dedicated units focused on vulnerable women, are assessed. All Canadian women deserve to live free of violence. For women with vulnerable life histories, violence is a daily threat and a common occurrence. More must be done to prevent violence and to hold offenders responsible when violence has been done. This dissertation is a plea for resources and attention; to turn apathy into pragmatic, concrete action founded on solid evidence-based research.

Record details

Physical Description: electronic
electronic resource
1 electronic text (1111 p.) : ill., digital file.

Content descriptions

Formatted Contents Note:

Methodology -- The Dissertation Database -- Pivot Legal Society Affidavits -- The Language of Sex Work -- Gender, Sex and Ethnicity of Sex Workers -- Child Sexual Exploitation through Prostitution -- CHAPTER TWO: ABORIGINAL WOMEN -- A Socio-Economic Overview of Aboriginal Women -- Squaw or Indian Princess -- Aboriginal Women and Government Policies -- Women and Crime -- Aboriginal Women and Victimization -- Incarcerated Women -- CHAPTER THREE: SEX WORK AND THE LAW -- Prostitution in Canada-- Forms of prostitution -- Street Prostitution -- Brothels or Bawdy-Houses -- Escorts -- Bell Desk, Hotel and Bar Prostitution -- Transport Prostitution -- Exotic Dancing Clubs -- Massage / Body Rub Parlours -- Opportunistic Prostitution -- Individual Arrangements -- Prostitution During Confinement -- Swingers or Sex Clubs -- “Sex for drugs” -- Survival Sex-- Other All-Male Venues -- Sporting Events -- Pornography -- Window Prostitution --The Legal Status of Sex Work in Canada -- On-Street Prostitution -- Off-Street Prostitution -- Challenges to the Canadian Prostitution Laws -- Trafficking in Persons -- Child Sexual Exploitation -- Positions in the Debate on Prostitution -- Legalization -- Abolition -- Criminalization -- Decriminalization -- CHAPTER FOUR: SOCIAL, FAMILIAL AND INDIVIDUAL IMPACTS OF SEX WORK -- Gender, Race and Ethnicity -- Poverty, Family and the Street -- Motherhood and Poverty -- The Child Welfare System -- Homelessness and Street Involvement -- Health -- Addiction -- Mental Health -- HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and STIs -- Crime and Exploitation -- Police-Sex Worker Interactions -- Incarceration and Criminal Records -- Vulnerability Leads to Vulnerability -- CHAPTER FIVE: VIOLENCE AND SEX WORK I. Violence -- Violence Against Street Sex Workers -- Violence Against Sex Workers by Other Sex Workers -- Violence Against Indoor Sex Workers -- Pimps -- Crime against Clients -- Homicide -- Homicides of Indoor Sex Workers -- Killers Targeting Sex Workers -- Canadian Serial Killers Targeting Sex Workers (By Real Name) -- Canadian Serial Killers Targeting Sex Workers (Unsolved) -- Analysis: Trends, Similarities and Questions arising from Serial Murders of Sex Workers -- CHAPTER SIX: THE MISSING WOMEN OF VANCOUVER’S DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE -- The Missing Women Review Team and Project Amelia -- The $100,000 Reward and Missing Women Posters -- Pickton as a Person of Interest -- The Formation of a Joint Forces Operation -- Project Evenhanded -- The Search of the Pickton Property -- Count 22: Jane Doe -- Public Health Notices of Potentially Contaminated Pork Products -- The List of Missing Women Continues to Grow -- The Pickton Trial -- Placing Blame and Accepting Responsibility -- The DTES, VPD and Project Evenhanded Post-Pickton -- Conclusion: Analysis of the Missing Women Cases -- CHAPTER SEVEN: INVESTIGATING CASES OF MISSING AND MURDERED VULNERABLE WOMEN -- Challenges and Opportunities Lost -- Homicides of High-Risk Victims by Strangers -- Unknown Time and Location of When and Where the Victim was Last Seen -- Sex Worker Distrust of Police -- Delays in Reporting Missing Persons -- Lack of Crime Scenes, Bodies or Evidence of a Crime -- Police Refusal to Believe in the Possibility of a Serial Offender -- Jurisdictional Issues -- Lack of Understanding of the Lives of Vulnerable People -- Communication and Treatment of Families of Victims -- Lack of National DNA Database for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains -- Issues with DNA and Physical Evidence -- Living Survivors -- Race, Class, Ethnicity and Prejudice against Vulnerable Victims -- Police Resource -- Lack of Compatible Computerized Systems -- Privacy Laws -- Management of Vulnerable Victims -- Tips -- Opportunities and Best Practices -- National Coordination Centres for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains -- Bad Date Sheets -- Voluntary Databases -- Historic Homicide Units -- Greater Crown Involvement -- Working with Social Services and Sex Worker Organizations -- High-Risk Youth and Chronic Runaway Identification -- Non-Police Best Practices -- Recommendations and New Initiatives in the Criminal Code of Canada -- Harm Reduction and Social Support for Vulnerable Persons -- Support for Families of Missing and Murdered Persons -- The Media -- CHAPTER EIGHT: LESSONS LEARNED: SEEKING RESOLUTIONS ON A LARGE SCALE -- Project KARE (Alberta) -- Project E-PANA (British Columbia) -- Project Devote (Manitoba) -- Serial Murder and Vulnerable Women -- APPENDIX A List of Abbreviations -- APPENDIX B Definitions -- APPENDIX C Selected Sections of the Criminal Code of Canada -- APPENDIX D Coding for Dissertation Database -- APPENDIX E Coding for Database for Pivot Affidavits -- APPENDIX F Names and Select Information in the Dissertation Database -- APPENDIX I: U.S. Serial Killers Targeting Sex Workers (By Name) -- II. U.S. Serial Killers Targeting Sex Workers (By Moniker) -- III. U.S. Serial Killers Targeting Sex Workers (By Moniker - Unsolved) -- IV. U.S. Serial Killers Targeting Sex Workers (By Location - Unsolved) -- V. U.K. Serial Killers Targeting Sex Workers (By Name) -- VI. U.K. Serial Killers Targeting Sex Workers (By Moniker - Unsolved) -- VII. U.K. Serial Killers Targeting Sex Workers (By Location - Unsolved).