Our Community

The 2nd Annual Walk Away From Homophobia in Campbell River will take place on Thursday, May 15, 2008, starting promptly at 5:30PM at the Heritage Pavilion at Bob Ostler Park (formerly Foreshore Park). Campbell River's GLBTQ support group is excited to be hosting this event for the second time.

The group is currently looking for volunteers to act as parade marshals. If you’re interested in volunteering or looking for more information about the event, please contact Leanne at (250)204-2821.

New weekly support group in Campbell River

call Leanne for more details
confidentiality assured

830-0787

Prostitute attacked in Victoria

Prostitute attacked in Victoria

See also: Prostitutes' 'stroll' urged for Victoria

November, 17 - 6:21 PM
VANCOUVER (CKNW/AM980)-- A Victoria prostitute has been attacked by one of her customers.

Police say the incident occurred near Douglas and Discovery at around 6 o'clock Wednesday morning.

The suspect apparently hit the woman on the head, held a knife to her throat and choked her till she passed out. The victim suffered a half-inch cut on the left side of her neck.

Police are looking for a white male, about 20 years old, 170 pounds, with short dark brown curly hair. He was wearing a white shirt and blue sweat suit.

FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORTS ON PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATION PROCESS

VICTORIA – The Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services has listened to almost 1,800 British Columbians during its annual consultation process regarding next year’s budget. The level of participation has set an all-time record for public input to any legislative committee in British Columbia and has resulted in 19recommendations addressing the key fiscal and budgetary priorities of British Columbians.

The all-party committee held 17 public hearings across B.C. In total, 244 witnesses made presentations at a public hearing, while 220 provided a written submission. For the first time, 1,335 individuals submitted their input electronically through the committee’s new online consultation site.

“Overall, British Columbians were pleased with the work government has done in balancing the 2004 budget and in generating a larger-than-expected surplus this fiscal year,” said committee chair Bill Belsey, MLA. “We heard that government should continue its sound fiscal management to promote further economic growth and opportunities across the province and to target some of the available funding for people in need.”

Prostitutes' 'stroll' urged for Victoria

Jeff Rud, Jeff Bell and Gerard Young
Times Colonist Wednesday, November 17, 2004

See Also: Legal hooker stroll needed in capital, says MLA

Prostitutes' 'stroll' urged for Victoria

Victoria-Hillside MLA Sheila Orr is urging city council to consider creating a prostitution "stroll" in Victoria, but neither the mayor nor the premier likes the idea.

Orr said that establishing a designated area that sex trade workers could use within specified hours might prevent prostitution from being pushed into residential neighbourhoods and also help to keep sex-trade workers safe.

One potential location would be the end of Store Street, Orr said, although she stressed that is merely a suggestion.

"I think that we should look at a stroll,'' Orr said Tuesday in the legislature. "A stroll would be an area that was designated where sex-trade workers could go within a certain time frame -- that's not 24 hours, that's in a time when they feel that they could get their trade -- and where it would be safer.''

Legal hooker stroll needed in capital, says MLA

CBC Vancouver WebPosted Nov 16 2004 12:12 PM PST

Legal hooker stroll needed in capital, says MLA

See also: Police Tackle Prostitutes in Victoria

VICTORIA - Victoria Liberal MLA Sheila Orr is calling for the establishment of a designated area for street prostitutes near the downtown core.

Victoria police have cracked down on prostitutes in the city centre, forcing them to move a few blocks away to an industrial area near the inner harbour.

That has prompted more complaints from people who live and work in the neighbourhood.

Sheila Orr, the Liberal member for Victoria-Hillside, represents the area. And she says it's time for a new approach.

She wants Victoria city council to consider creating a stroll where prostitutes could legally ply their trade,

I am writing to you as the Member of Parliament for Burnaby Douglas, as
well as in my position as the NDP critic for Canadian Human Rights.

I am anxious to follow up on the Trans Legislative Needs Assessment
conducted in Ottawa last year, as well as on my party's commitment to
address human rights issues of the Transsexual and Transgender
communities. I know that Transgender and Transsexual people are all too
often the victims of discrimination, harassment and violence directed
towards them because of their gender identity and / or gender expression.
This is unacceptable, and must be addressed by Canadian lawmakers now.

I am therefore intending to introduce a Private Member's Bill to amend the
Canadian Human Rights Act early in the New Year. I am hoping that this
amendment will specifically address the lack of protections that
Transsexual and Transgender people have from experiences of discrimination
and harassment under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

As a first step, I would like hear what you see as legislative priorities

Undercover police tackle prostitutes on the move
Victoria officers posing as sex-trade workers make arrests north of downtown, in Rock Bay

Jeff Bell
Times Colonist

Sunday, November 14, 2004

Victoria police have launched an undercover operation to tackle the spread of prostitution to the Rock Bay area, between Bay Street and Gorge Road East.

Sgt. Todd Wellman says police believed it was time to take action in Rock Bay, on the edge of the Burnside Gorge district, where prostitutes moved about a year ago from the more heavily enforced southern stretches of Government Street.

The project by the department's targeted policing division has focused on men trying to solicit services from sex-trade workers, says Const. Rick Anthony. With female officers posing as prostitutes, four arrests were made in a two-hour period during a late-October weekend.

The aim is to send a message that laws against soliciting prostitutes will be enforced, he says. "That is something that we're going to do regularly and randomly."

FP: Doctors need help collecting sexual histories

Few resources exist to help doctors deal with discomfort

Medical Post By Matthew Sylvain

ORLANDO, FLA. – Discussing sex with patients is daunting for physicians, yet medical schools generally do little to prepare future doctors for the realities of collecting information on sexual history, says a professor at the University of California at San Francisco.

Dr. Laura Hill-Sakurai, who interviewed physicians while preparing a teaching video on the subject for use in medical schools, found "there was very little (available) research looking at what physicians find challenging in taking sexual histories."

During a presentation at NAPCRG, Dr. Hill-Sakurai, an assistant professor of family and community medicine, discussed issues that commonly emerge when physicians query patients about their sexual health. She said physicians were daunted by the sheer diversity of sexual behaviours and complexities of attitudes their patients exhibited.

TRANSGENDER HEALTH PROGRAM: COORDINATOR POSITION

Closing date: 4:30 PM, November 25, 2004

The Transgender Health Program was launched by Vancouver Coastal Health in June 2003 to provide support, information, and advocacy for transgender people and loved ones in BC, and to coordinate training of health and social service providers.

Working within the context of a client-driven approach and the vision/values of Vancouver Coastal Health, the Coordinator will be responsible for overseeing the development of the Transgender Health Program within the context of Recommendations for a Transgender Health Program (the Kopala report).

This includes: coordinating the development of education, peer support, advocacy, and research initiatives; coordinating stakeholder outreach and engagement (including community forums, the Advisory Group and Education Working Group, and the network of service providers affiliated with the program); coordinating development of external funding proposals;