Wendy Babcock - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Wendy Babcock was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

activist for the rights of sex workers. Born in the city of Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Babcock became a sex worker

Sex worker

A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...

at the age of 15. From 2004 to 2007 she was a key member of Sex Professionals of Canada

Sex Professionals of Canada

Sex Professionals of Canada is a Canadian activism group. SPOC was formed in 2001, and campaigns for decriminalization through public education and legal challenges to decriminalize Canadian prostitution laws....

, an advocacy group whose main objective is to promote the rights of sex workers and the decriminalization of Canada's prostitution laws.

Babcock was recently the chair of the Bad Date Coalition of Toronto, a group that produces a monthly Bad Date Book

Bad Date Book

A Bad Date Book is a written record that circulates in cities that have a high concentration of street based prostitution...

which publishes reports of violent acts committed against sex workers, including details of the attacker. She testified in Alan Young's

Alan Young (lawyer)

Alan N. Young is an associate professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Young is the co-founder and director of Osgoode's Innocence Project, which seeks to investigate overturn cases of wrongful conviction....

Constitutional Court Challenge to decriminalize the prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

laws.

Babcock co-initiated a partnership with Toronto Police Services to ensure sex workers can report assault without fear of persecution or prosecution, and being a member of the advisory group to the Special Victims Unit. Other projects that Babcock helped to create include Safer Stroll Outreach Project, Regent Park Community Health Centre's Sex Worker Drop In, the Health Bus Sex Workers Stop and Wen-Do

Wen-Do

Wen-do, developed by Ned and Anne Paige a married couple of Toronto, Ontario is a form of self defense for women. Dr. Paige, an Optometrist, dedicated himself to creating a program to teach women to protect themselves after hearing of the murder of Kitty Genovese in New York on March 13, 1964.Ned...

safety training for sex workers.

Babcock took a leave of absence from sex work after her friend and co-worker Lien Pham was murdered on October 13, 2003. In 2002 - 2003 Babcock began sex worker advocacy while working for Maggie's, a peer run organization for sex workers. From 2003 - 2010 Babcock worked at Street Health as a Harm Reduction

Harm reduction

Harm reduction refers to a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with recreational drug use and other high risk activities...

Worker.

In 2008 Babcock received the Inaugural Public Health Champion Award for her work with sex workers. The award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to protecting and promoting the health of Toronto’s residents.

Babcock participated in three films: Sluts: The Documentary , the 2007 documentary Where I Stand, and the 2010 short film Every Ho I Know Says So. Babcock also appeared on television including the CBC's Connect with Mark Kelley
Connect with Mark Kelley
Connect with Mark Kelley is a Canadian news talk show, which debuted October 26, 2009 on CBC News Network. Hosted by Mark Kelley, the show airs weeknights live from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. eastern time...

twice, and Global TV's 16:9 The Bigger Picture
16:9 (TV series)
16x9 is a Canadian investigative newsmagazine television program which airs on Global. The series debuted on November 30, 2008...

. Babcock can also be seen in a video on a website for Eva's Phoenix homeless shelter, where she lived during her youth.

Wendy Babcock worked as a sex-worker consultant to Kat Dennings

Kat Dennings

Katherine Litwack , better known by the stage name Kat Dennings, is an American actress. Emerging with a role in an episode of the HBO dramedy series Sex and the City, Dennings has since appeared in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Big Momma's House 2, Charlie Bartlett, Raise Your Voice, The House...

for her role as a sex worker in the 2009 film Defendor
Defendor
Defendor is a 2009 Canadian superhero comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Stebbings, and starring Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Elias Koteas and Sandra Oh. The story tells of a mentally ill man who adopts the persona of a superhero named Defendor on a quest to find his arch enemy,...

, starring Woody Harrelson

Woody Harrelson

Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...

. That year, she also began to pursue a J.D. degree at Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...

.

Wendy joined Lover Magazine (North America's first women's sexuality magazine) in 2011 as a writer on sex work issues.

On August 9th, 2011, Babcock was found dead at home; foul play was not suspected. At the time of her death, Babcock was at work on a memoir, to be released in 2013 to coincide with her graduation.

External links

Personal websites

News Articles

Wendy Babcock: Champion for those without a voice
Former Child Prostitute Turned Law Student Vows to Change Child Welfare Laws. Citynews; 11 November 2009.
From Prostitute to Law Student: Wendy Babcock has a new struggle on her hands - paying tuition. Inside Toronto; 19 November 2009.
We can all benefit from Wendy Babcock's fight. Toronto Star.
Wendy Babcock Fights for Better Laws. McClungs; April 2010.