In late February, the PACE Society, a long-standing pillar of support for sex workers in Vancouver, announced it was suspending services and programming and laying off most staff. For more than 30 years, PACE has provided peer support, counselling and basic services using a “by, for and with” sex workers approach.
Now, amid a funding crisis that has led to layoffs of mostly staff with current or former experience of sex work, the future of vital support services for sex workers in Vancouver is uncertain.
PACE’s announcement was another heavy loss following a string of closures and service reductions at organizations serving sex workers and other marginalized women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
