A New Westminster nightclub owner is ditching a “Pimps N Hos” theme for a costume party night after women’s advocates panned the idea in the middle of Prevention of Violence Against Women Week.
Status owner Sevario Loria told CTV News he was just trying to create a fun night by asking people to dress up the night before a long weekend.
“It was a costume party, like on Halloween, when people come and dress up like superheroes,” Loria said. “Nothing was meant by it.”
Loria was called by women’s advocate Tania Fiolleau, who warned him that the relationship between pimps and prostitutes implies abuse.
“I said wait a minute here. I called Sevario, I said think about the real meaning of what a pimp is, what a ‘ho’ is, according to society. We should not be promoting that this is cool,” she said.
Loria and Fiolleau are friends, and he decided to change the theme party to a regular night at the club.
“We don’t want to send the wrong message out,” Loria said.
It was bad timing for the event, which was scheduled during Prevention of Violence Against Women Week.
Several events have been planned, including a Wednesday press conference that highlighted the BC Lions and their role in sponsoring the “Be More Than A Bystander Campaign,” which received $160,000 in new funding from the provincial government.
The campaign released a number of videos that give tips on how to stand up against everyday mistreatment of women.
Advocates estimated that about 60,000 sexual and physical assaults occur against women each year in B.C.
“[The party] essentially objectifies women. In a city with this much violence that’s not the direction we want to be going,” said Tracy Porteous of the Ending Violence Association.
