Peers Victoria Resources Society was formed in 1995 after a group of women met through their involvement in the Downtown Women’s Project (and later Sandy Merriman House). Jannit Rabinovitch, one of the co-founders, was a community organizer who had spearheaded many innovative women’s services in the region.
Barb Smith, another co-founder, had been in the sex industry and recognized the need for sex worker specific services in Victoria. Barb had connections to others who would become Peers’ founding members.
At its inception, Peers was originally conceived as “Prostitutes Anonymous” and was a loosely organized group supporting women wishing to leave the sex industry. As new members came on, some questioned whether the organization should be modelled on a 12-step substance recovery model.
As the original members connected with more people in the sex industry the title, “Prostitutes Empowerment Education and Resource Society” became the official name of the organization. This title captured the organizations commitment to support women in the sex industry as well as those who wished to leave.
In 2009, the organization changed its name to Peers Victoria Resources Society recognizing that the language surrounding the sex industry had changed substantially over the years and the term “prostitute” was no longer appropriate in the title. While women have historically made up the majority of the clients served by Peers, our organization has always served men and trans people working in the sex industry.
This 2004 article explores the development of Peers as one of three community action research projects conducted
by Jannit Rabinovitch from 1996 to 2001. The article notes that Peers’ success stems in part from the degree to which sex workers are involved in the planning, development, and delivery of its programs and services, and in part from sidestepping the controversies that destroyed many other sex worker organizations.
In the early 2000s, Peers had specific funds for a successful men’s program. The service needs of men and trans people in the industry has remained a consistent interest among those within the organization even if it is recognized that it is hard to have a full range of gender diverse services under the roof of one small organization.
For a more detailed history of Peers and its activism, read the chapter on Peers and sex work activism featured in an anthology, Sex Work Activism in Canada, put together by Amy Leibowitz and Shawna Ferris. The 2001 booklet Impossible, Eh — Story of Peers also provides more information about the early years.
Please refer to the resources on our Sex Work 101 page for more on the work of Peers over the years.
