‘Sex workers are human beings’: Community rallies in support of woman violently sexually assaulted last month

They're our neighbours, they're our peers. Sex workers belong here."

That rallying call rang through Barton Street East on Friday night as dozens of community members marched in a showing of support for a sex worker who was sexually assaulted and beaten last month.

Some carried signs calling for the decriminalization of sex work, while others carried red umbrellas and donned scarlet-coloured clothing. Passersby could be heard honking their horns in solidarity.

The march was part of a vigil that was held in an alleyway just off of Barton Street East and Emerald Avenue North - the site of the June 27 attack, which left the 46-year-old woman gravely injured.

Gbenga Obajuluwa, 24, of Hamilton has been charged with aggravated sexual assault in connection to the incident. He did not know the victim and was not known to police before his arrest, according to Hamilton police.

Speaking to the crowd, vigil organizer and Sex Workers' Action Program (SWAP) Hamilton executive director Jelena Vermilion said the criminalization of sex work puts workers at increased risk of gender-based violence.

And due to a deep-rooted" distrust of police, sex workers are less likely to report incidents of abuse they face while on the job, she added.

The law in Canada exacerbates and reproduces harms," said Vermilion. So long as the act of engaging in sex for money is illegal, sex workers will not see police as allies in moments when we need them."

Vermilion also called on community members to advocate for the rights of sex workers in the city, especially those who are street-based.

The victim's mother said the attack left her daughter with a broken jaw, a broken nose, three brain bleeds and many stitches. She's also still having difficulty speaking and cannot use her arms, noted the mother, who will not be named by The Spectator due to the nature of the incident.

She has a long road to recovery," said the mother, noting that her daughter will have to relearn how to walk. Sex workers are human beings."

The mother also thanked the health-care workers at the Hamilton General Hospital who saved her daughter's life," as well as the team at SWAP Hamilton for their assistance.

Vermilion presented the mother with a cheque for around $9,000 that had been raised by the community to help support the family through the recovery process.

Vermilion then led supporters in a march east down Barton to the organization's recently opened drop-in support centre, located just west of Lottridge Street.

Several community organizations also attended the march, including the Sexual Assault Centre for Hamilton and Area (SACHA).

Director Jessica Bonilla-Damptey said it's important that adjacent agencies show their support for sex workers in Hamilton - especially in the aftermath of the attack.

We have to show up in the community," said Bonilla-Damptey. It means having a presence and letting the community know that they're not alone and that we're behind them."

A handful of street-based sex workers also joined the demonstration and chanted into the microphone - which Vermilion called a really powerful" display of their voices being heard in the city.

Taking up space is our right, we belong here in our community," said Vermilion. We're not less than because we sell or trade sexual services to survive."

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com