Trisha Baptie

Trisha Baptie
Born 1973 (age 41–42)
Nationality Canadian
Citizenship Canadian
Occupation Owner, Honour Consulting
Activist for the abolition of prostitution
Citizen journalist
Former prostitute
Founding member, EVE (organization)
Organization EVE
Home town Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Website
www.honourconsulting.com

Trisha Baptie (born 1973)[1] is a Vancouver-based citizen journalist and activist for the abolition of prostitution.[2]

Early life

Baptie was first forced into prostitution at the age of 13.[3] This was the beginning of her 15-year period in the sex-industry, both indoor and outdoor, most of which was spent in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside area.

Activism career

At the age of 28, Baptie took the opportunity to exit prostitution.[4]

In 2007, Baptie became a citizen journalist for Orato, an online newspaper,[5] to cover the murder trial of Robert Pickton, most of whose victims were picked up from the Downtown Eastside. Many of Pickton's victims were known to Baptie.[6] During this period of time, Baptie developed a more politicized perspective on her experiences in prostitution and began to speak out publicly on sex-industry issues.[7]

In 2009, Baptie co-founded EVE, a volunteer, non-governmental, non-profit organization of former sex-industry women dedicated to naming prostitution violence against women and seeing its abolition through political action, advocacy, and public education. EVE focuses first and foremost on ending the demand for paid sexual access to women and children's bodies[8] but also believes that unless social conditions are improved for women and children globally, exploitation cannot be eliminated. This belief is consistent with a radical women’s equality approach to the sex-industry and is shared by prominent and influential feminist theorists such as Julie Bindel and Catharine MacKinnon.

In 2009-2010 Baptie was a community mobilizer in the Buying Sex is Not a Sport campaign in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver.[9] She was a focal speaker in the Langara Dialogues, a public forum in which the subjects of prostitution, human trafficking, community responsibility, abolition, legalization, and their ties to the Olympics were discussed and debated.[10][11]

In 2010 Baptie appeared in a documentary film, “Our Lives to Fight For”. She also joined Christine Barkhouse, Natasha Falle, Katarina MacLeod, and Bridgett Perrier in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in picketing the repeal of prostitution laws. All five women are survivors of human trafficking who had been forced into prostitution in Canada.[12]

In 2011, Baptie was invited to speak at the TEDx event hosted by Simon Fraser University.[13] She was also a featured presenter in Women’s Worlds 2011 congress program in July in Ottawa-Gatineau.

In 2012, Baptie and EVE joined the Woman’s Equality and Security Commission (WESC) to contribute to the Missing Women Inquiry.[14]

Baptie's life and work are central in the 2013 film "Buying Sex", directed by Teresa MacInnes and Kent Nason and facilitated by the Canadian National Film Board. In Buying Sex, Baptie and her allies refute the notion that prostitution is a free and empowering choice for women from all walks of life.

Baptie was featured in American lesbian radical feminist activist Janice Raymond’s book, “Not a Job, Not a Choice” (July 2013).

Honors and awards

In 2008, Baptie won the Courage to Come Back award, and emerged as a vibrant activist seeking the implementation of the Nordic Model of prostitution Law in Canada.[4]

References

  1. ↑ James Stairs (February 2, 2007). "Ex-prostitutes report on serial murder trial". Independent Online. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  2. ↑ Patricia Paddey (October 6, 2010). "Legalizing prostitution a failure of compassion". National Post. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  3. ↑ Johnson, Lisa (August 9, 2010). "The Price Of Sex". Planet S Magazine. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Grindlay, L (April 21, 2008). "From drugs and sex to a life of hope". The Vancouver Province.
  5. ↑ "Trail-Blazing Citizen Journalists Tell Their Side of the Robert "Willie" Pickton". Newsblaze. December 14, 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Women still missing from Vancouver amid Pickton convictions". CBC News. December 9, 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  7. ↑ Baptie, Trisha (December 6, 2007). "At the Pickton Trial: A Personal Notebook". Orato.com.
  8. ↑ "EVE - About Us".
  9. ↑ Salkin, Miné (May 21, 2009). "Buying sex not a sport: Sex work activists". Metro Vancouver.
  10. ↑ "Campaign to raise awareness of potential sex trafficking at 2010 Games". CBC News. May 21, 2009. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  11. ↑ Baptie speaking at the Langara College Dialogues
  12. ↑ Connor, Kevin (October 6, 2010). "Former Prostitutes Picket Trade". The London Free Press.
  13. ↑ "TEDx 2011 Website Speaker's List".
  14. ↑ "The Women's Equality and Security Coalition Denounces the Missing Women's Inquiry Policy Forums". http://www.rapereliefshelter.bc.ca''. Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter. April 10, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2015.

External links