Kara Gillies is a sex worker and activist who has been advocating for sex workers’ rights and well-being for the past two decades. She co-founded both the Canadian Guild for Erotic Labour and the former Toronto Migrant Sex Workers Advocacy Group. Gillies hosted a sex worker rights radio show on CIUT 89.5 FM called The Shady Lady and was a health worker at the Hassle Free Clinic. She has been involved with Maggie’s (www.maggiestoronto.ca), a Toronto-based sex worker-run organization, for 18 years and currently coordinates its education program. Gillies is also the Executive Director of Voices of Positive Women (www.vopw.org). Emily van der Meulen interviewed her in September 2008. This interview was originally published in Upping the Anti #7 and is reprinted with permission.
Please tell us a bit about Maggie’s.
Maggie’s is a sex worker-run organization dedicated to promoting the safety and dignity of women, men and trans people working in the sex trade. Maggie’s was formed in 1986 by a small group of Toronto-based sex workers who chose to fight against the social and legal injustices that sex workers face. Over the years, Maggie’s has taken a stand against the criminalization of prostitution and fought for the recognition of the labour and human rights of sex workers.
