A leading scholar and influential voice in her field, Cecilia Benoit has made vital contributions to informed policy debates on sex work, maternal care and health equity. Her efforts to challenge stigma and elevate evidence-based research have helped move Canadian policymakers toward meaningful change. But Benoit's legacy also goes beyond shaping policy in Canada for some of society's most marginalized groups. She has been a lifelong mentor to many scholars over the years and has always lifted the voices of the communities she works with.
Set to receive appointment at the Officer (O.C.) level to the Order of Canada this month, one of the country's highest civilian honours, Benoit reflects on her career as a University of Victoria (UVic) scientist and sociologist.
"When I started my career in sociology, there was not much support for qualitative research and community-based research was in its infancy," says Benoit.
Exploring stigmatized topics: sex work
In 1989, Benoit, a new hire in UVic's Department of Sociology, was eager to pursue research topics that explored the stigma attached to midwifery and sex work. Early on, she was invited by Peers Victoria, a Victoria-based grassroots sex-worker organization, to conduct research with sex workers, launching her first community-based research project.
Sex workers were so heavily stigmatized, and we knew very little about the individuals themselves. Community-based research gives people a voice and a way of telling their story."
Cecilia Benoit, UVic sociologist and scientist
She devoted much of her career to shedding light on the lives and experiences of sex workers. Her Understanding Sex Work projects involved interviews with more than 700 people working in or associated with the sex industry across Canada, including sex workers, their intimate partners, clients and managers.
While the Canadian Criminal Code continues to criminalize aspects of sex work, public attitudes have shifted, and Benoit, along with other researchers and advocates, continues to challenge laws that contribute to stigma and harm.
Cecilia Benoit stands in front of Peers, a Victoria-based grassroots sex-worker organization.
Mentoring scholars to continue research on sex work
Rachel Phillips started studying with Benoit as a sociology graduate student in the late-90s, and would go on to do her Masters, PhD and post-doctoral work with Benoit with a focus on sex work. Phillips eventually went on to become the Executive Director of Peers Victoria from 2014 to 2024. She says that Cecilia's approach of working directly with sex workers helped create strong evidence.
In some ways, Cecilia gave voice through research to what sex workers were always saying, but she could bring that objective, academically positioned empirical perspective to it."
Rachel Phillips, former Executive Director of Peers Victoria
Philip adds this research was particularly important for the constitutional challenges sex worker organizations launched following federal changes to laws around sex work in Canada.
"Cecilia's style of research produces exemplary evidence. She takes a wide-ranging look at people's lives, at social institutions, the impact of stigma and social positioning on health, and she does that with a great sociological lens where you can see how people's experiences are constructed by the way we treat them in society."
Exploring stigmatized topics: the expansion of midwifery
Midwifery has seen even greater advances in public acceptance and legal recognition. Benoit's doctoral and post-doctoral work played a significant role in these changes. Her research demonstrated that the inclusion of midwifery in the Canadian health care system would create legitimate work for midwives and improve care for birthing families.
Today, midwives practice in most Canadian jurisdictions, and in British Columbia their scope of practice has recently been expanded, allowing them to provide a broader range of care and services.
"It is amazing that in my lifetime, midwifery has moved from a stigmatized and banned activity to a valuable healthcare service in its own right and one that is publicly funded in most regions," says Benoit. "A lot remains to be done to improve the working conditions of midwives in Canada, but some fundamental rights have been recognized."
Lifting community voices on midwifery
For Lorna McRae, a midwife whose Access Midwifery clinic operated in Victoria for 18 years, Cecilia's community-based approach became apparent to her while she was doing outreach with people who were marginalized economically and socially. "She was looking at models of care for people who faced a lot of barriers to respectful care. Cecilia was bridging this academic piece, as well as the practical community support," says McRae. "She did a lot of courageous and necessary bridge work in Victoria."
Supporting vulnerable youth
One of Benoit's long-standing research partnerships has been with the Victoria Youth Clinic Society. She began working with the youth clinic over 25 years ago and has conducted several research projects in partnership with youth there. She also served on the clinic's board of directors and supported its transition to becoming a Foundry centre. This was a big undertaking, says Amy Schactman, who was Foundry Victoria's clinical coordinator at the time.
"The board really had to step up to support us to take on a scope that was in addition to the original Victoria Youth Clinic mandate, because now we were seeing a wider range of young people and caregivers in the South Island," says Schactman. "Cecilia really ensured that the staff were supported, that the work continued, and that we were meeting the needs of the Victoria's young people -- recognizing that we were a downtown clinic and we were meeting with a lot of young people that were unhoused and struggling with mental health and substance use health challenges."
Exploring stigmatized topics: harm reduction and safer substance use
Although retired from UVic Sociology, Benoit's passion for community-based research continues through her work with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR), where she collaborates closely with postdoctoral researchers on harm reduction and safer substance use.
"If the system is lacking, research can help fill the gap," says Benoit. "When cannabis was legalized in Canada in 2018, there were no guidelines for youth. There was a gap."
Benoit and her CISUR colleagues developed the Cannabis Use Guidelines for Youth to address that shortfall in public policy. The development of the guidelines was led by youth themselves.
Continued mentorship and the importance of community
Andrea Mellor is a scientist with CISUR who works with Benoit on several projects, including the youth cannabis guidelines. Mellor says their research partnership started in 2021 with a recommendation from her PhD supervisors, Denise Cloutier and Karen Kobayashi. Benoit was looking for someone to help her with a target article exploring the sexual rights of people living with disabilities. Their research partnership has since grown over the years and spanned several projects, such as the youth cannabis guidelines, a project to improve access to treatment services for marginalized youth, and a new project looking at substance use in the Canadian Armed Forces.
"She and I have an amazing collaborative rhythm we've just really been in sync right from the beginning," says Mellor. "I think a lot of our success is that we respect each other's roles and what we both bring to the table. That and she's a great leader."
One of the many lessons Mellor has learned from Benoit over the last several years is the importance of lasting community partnerships, including through organizational and leadership changes.
Recognition for her efforts
Receiving the Order of Canada is a remarkable recognition of a lifetime of scholarship, advocacy and community engagement. Yet Benoit says one of the most rewarding aspects of her career has been mentoring the next generation of researchers committed to community-based approaches that challenge stigma and advance social change.
She tells me, You're in it for the long haul,' and I think that's a really good perspective to take. I think that many of the successes Cecilia has had across her career are a testament to the strength and commitment to those relationships."
Andrea Mellor, CISUR scientist
Read more about Benoit's work: https://www.uvic.ca/news/archive/topics/2020+killam-prize-ceceliabenoit+news
