Prostitution and sexual harassment

THE WHITE SLAVE

1.  One little girl, fair as a pearl,
    Worked every day in a laundry
    All that she made, for food she paid,
    So she slept on a park bench so soundly.
    An old procuress spied her there
    And whispered softly in her ear:

Chorus
COME WITH ME NOW MY GIRLIE
DON’T SLEEP OUT IN THE COLD
YOUR FACE AND TRESSES CURLY
WILL BRING YOU FAME AND GOLD
AUTOMOBILES TO RIDE IN
DIAMONDS AND SILKS TO WEAR
YOU’LL BE A STAR BRIGHT, DOWN IN THE RED LIGHT
YOU’LL MAKE YOUR FORTUNE THERE

2.  Same little girl, no more a pearl,
    Walks all alone by the river,
    Five years have flown, her health is gone,
    She would look at the water and shiver.
    Whene'er she'd stop to rest and sleep
    She'd hear a voice call from the deep:

3.  Girls in this way fall everyday
    And have been falling for ages.
    Who is to blame? You know his name
    He's the boss who pays starvation wages.
    A homeless girl can always hear
    Temptations calling everywhere.

Joe Hill, "The White Slave", Industrial Worker "Little Red Songbook", 6 March 1913.

"My lab partners says she's going to transfer to Concordia, because she can't deal with the teaching assistant any more. Dr. A is always leching after her––invites her to meet him in bars on Crescent St. 'to discus her work', wants her to work late with him in the lab and tells her how her work would improve if she worked much more closely with him. Other people in her department are starting to notice how uncomfortable she looks around him. I think it's unfair that she should have to leave–after all, he's the one who's the problem."

McGill Daily, Montreal, 5 January 1989