But she says it was the people and stories she encountered on the news beat that ultimately led her to help the people she considers society's classic underdogs, sex workers.

Paterson, who also wrote a regular column for the the Victoria Times-Colonist, admits many of the stories she wrote, especially ones about sex trade workers, touched her personally - a journalistic no-no, where reporters seek the heart of stories but attempt to keep the emotion from sinking into their own skin.

"If you're a journalist you are meeting different people," she said. "You're learning things you didn't know. You're hearing things that you hadn't expected to hear that your life previously hadn't exposed you to."

"And if you can just ignore all of that, you're a different person than I am."

So she quit her city column at the newspaper and joined a prostitute support group in Victoria.

It was during her time as executive director at the Prostitutes Empowerment Education and Resource Society - PEERS - that the idea to open a brothel was hatched.

"Initially, I was against prostitution," said Paterson, 50, and the mother of three grown children. "I was in favour of eliminating it. I felt it was exploitative of women."

But after working with women at PEERS she said she discovered many prostitutes are more interested in safe and healthy workplaces than debating putting an end to prostitution, she said.

"I met people who challenged my assumptions and I learned that I was wrong," Paterson said.

It was then that she and a colleague at PEERS, Lauren Casey, decided to tackle the brothel project.

"The time has passed for moralizing about why men buy sex and why people sell it," Paterson said. "Let's step forward and into the reality of it and have a safe, fair, good workplace for it."

She said the brothel opening is at least one year away.

Paterson said she and Casey are volunteering their time and effort to develop the brothel project. She said she won't be paid when it opens.

"Our aim is to listen to the people in the industry and say, 'what do you want?' " she said.

There are several brothels currently operating in Victoria as escort agencies, Paterson said.

Her brothel will likely be registered as an escort agency, too, she said.

"What's different about this one is the mandate for the profits is for social good," Paterson said.

"It's a co-op brothel. The women have participated in developing it, participated in the running of it and are empowered to make it a good workplace."

The profits from the brothel will go to PEERS, which will use the money to help prostitutes with issues ranging from drug detox, counselling to aiding them to leave the sex trade, she said.

At PEERS, support workers Alicia Koorn and Allison Scott say support for the co-op brothel is huge among sex trade workers.

"It's the oldest profession," said Koorn. "Everyone uses it. You've got lawyers, you've got judges, you've got doctors.

"Having the ladies safer and having resources while they're working is what I believe Jody and Lauren are doing and I stand behind them."

John McLaren, a member of the Trudeau-era Fraser Committee on prostitution and pornography, said he supports the co-op brothel concept.

"In principle, I would be in favour of such an experiment," said the retired University of Victoria law professor.

"I found through my historical research and the work I did for the Fraser Committee, that none of the legal solutions to prostitution and its treatment in society that have been used in Canada have been in any way a success."

Canadian law focuses primarily on the prostitutes, McLaren said.

Some jurisdictions outside of Canada have moved towards government-controlled prostitution with success, he said. McLaren cited the licensed brothels in Canberra, Australia as one successful project.

"I can't guarantee that it would inevitably work in Victoria, but my belief is that it's worth trying," said McLaren. "It can't be any worse than the situation we have already."

Victoria Police have said the Criminal Code would have to change for someone to open a brothel.

Paterson said there are escort agencies in Victoria running what amounts to brothels.

She said she envisions her brothel would be discreetly located in Victoria.

It won't have a bright marquee advertising sex for sale, but it will likely include some of the traditional trappings of what many would believe a brothel to include, Paterson said.

"Will there be somebody who's more or less the hostess, yes," she said. "Will there be a great, fancy, nice meeting area, yes I think that, too."

Paterson said she plans to keep the public informed about the brothel's progress.

"This is not a story about two flaky women with a crazy idea," she said. "It's about something who's time has come."

Source: The Canadian Press - VICTORIA