The most marginalized street prostitutes in Vancouver need places to live and work safely, says a community group calling for a series of changes to clean up the city's sex-trade industry.

The Living in Community group has issued a report that makes 27 recommendations to reduce the negative impact of the sex trade industry on workers and neighbourhoods.

Young sex workers like these often end up on the streets of Vancouver.
(CBC)

"We need some housing, low-barrier housing that has mental health addiction and other support for sex workers who are living in poverty," said group co-ordinator Lisa Gibson.

"We also need a sex worker co-operative massage parlour that is run by and for sex workers that would create healthy and safe places for sex workers to work and reduce the impact of the street-level sex industry in communities throughout Vancouver."

Gibson said the number of sex trade workers who have gone missing from the Downtown Eastside highlights the need for immediate action on the report.

Less 'residual mess'

Sex trade worker and advocate Susan Davis said there is a common ground between the needs of women like herself, and the hard-pressed neighbourhood where she lives and works.

Davis said problems such as used condoms on the street and sex acts in public would end if sex trade workers had safe places to work.
 
"This would really affect all of those problems. The residual mess would be visibly diminished."

Donald MacPherson, Vancouver's drug and alcohol co-ordinator and a member of the Living in Community steering committee, said the recommendations are reasonable.

He said the report will likely be considered seriously by the city, as it's in the interests of public health.

Living in Community is a project launched two years ago by a group of businesses, community groups and government organizations, including police and health officials.