Sex work debate divides women’s federation

MONTREAL — Members of Quebec’s most prominent women’s group are divided over whether to acknowledge prostitution as a freely chosen career and whether to support all Muslim female public servants who choose to wear a hijab at work.

About 150 representatives from Quebec’s main feminist federation adopted a motion Sunday night recognizing that women can choose to become sex workers and can consent to sexual activity in exchange for money.

Prostitution abolitionists, who believe all sex work is necessarily exploitative, are now questioning whether to remain in the group.

Gabrielle Bouchard, president of the Federation des femmes du Quebec, said on Monday the “large majority” of voters at the group’s general assembly supported the motion, “but some people were upset.”

The motion, in part, read: “The (federation) recognizes that women have agency within the prostitution/sex industry, including the ability to consent to the industry’s activities.”

Some thought the motion didn’t go far enough in its support for sex workers, while others thought it went too far, Bouchard explained in an interview.

“Some people were upset, some people were confused,” she said. “But for a large majority of members who voted, it was clearly a position that brings us together and gives us tools to move forward.”

Martine Cote, a spokesperson for CLES, a Montreal-based group seeking to abolish prostitution, said in a text message Monday that her group will ask members whether they want to remain in the federation following the controversial vote.