Who We Are

Maggie's: The Toronto Sex Workers Action Project is an organization run for and by local sex workers. Our mission is to assist sex workers in our efforts to live and work with safety and dignity. We are founded on the belief that in order to improve our circumstances, sex workers must control our own lives and destinies.

We welcome workers of all genders from all areas of the sex trade - street-based sex workers, exotic dancers, escorts, pornography actors, phone sex operators, professional dominants and submissives, erotic massage workers, web cam workers, and others - to join us in our fight to control our own bodies, sexuality and working lives.

our mission

Maggie’s mission is to provide education, advocacy, and support to assist sex workers to live and work with safety and dignity. 

our principles

We are founded on the belief that to improve our lives, sex workers must take the power to control our own destinies. That is why Maggie’s exists first and foremost as an organization for sex workers, that is controlled by sex workers. To quote the slogan: “Nothing about us, without us is for us!"

Sex work is real work. We are not criminals, deviant or victims. We are working people and we demand to be recognized as such.

Sex work is socially legitimate, important and valuable work. All sex work is equally valid, whether it be dancing, street work or domination and we are entitled to labour rights; the right to form unions or professional associations; the right to work independently, collectively or for a third party; and the right to occupational health and safety.

Sex work is not the same as trafficking. Sex work is a job selling some form of sexual service. Trafficking is coerced or forced labour. The confusion between sex work and trafficking has led to further disrespect, criminalization and deportations of migrant sex workers while disregarding their actual concerns or needs. We listen to the voices and analyses of migrant sex workers from the global south themselves—not governments, NGO’s or academics—to guide our understanding about the issues. We support  open borders and labour and human rights for undocumented workers.

Sex work is not intrinsically dangerous, oppressive or exploitative. Most of the problems sex workers experience are a result of legal and social systems that disregard our rights and worth. We work to end these oppressive systems, not to “rescue” sex workers. 

Selling sex is a pragmatic and sensible response to a limited range of options. Where people are doing sex work but would rather not be, it is this lack of options that is the problem – not sex work itself. Women, young people, trans women, people of colour and Indigenous people often face limited economic options. For many, sex work is the best or only option for work and we work to improve the conditions of work.

We advocate for removal of all laws that criminalize sex work and an end to all forms of discrimination and harassment of sex workers. 

We recognize that sex workers are safer sex professionals and oppose public health policies such as mandatory testing that are founded on stereotypes about us that persecute sex workers rather than genuinely improve public health. We advocate evidence-based approaches to HIV and other STI’s that are led by the experts—sex workers. We recognize that the risk of HIV and other STI's is directly related to poor working conditions created by criminalization and stigmatization.

We are a part of the international sex worker’s rights movement and we work in coalition with organizations and individuals that support our principles.