Legal Challenges to Prostitution Laws

Tackling prostitution laws requires a long term vision.

Canada Must Support Women’s Equality, Provide for Needs

By Trisha Baptie December 16th, 2008 - 08:48 pm PT

On November 15, 2008, I received a call from the Department of Justice to let me know that minutes earlier Pivot’s Charter challenge to Canadian laws, which criminalize prostitution, had been thrown out of court. Pivot Legal Society is a non-profit legal advocacy organization located in Vancouver, Canada's Downtown Eastside, a neighbourhood infamous for the disappearance of 60 women, many of whom fell victim to a convicted serial killer by the name of Robert "Willie" Pickton.

In October, Pivot Legal Society went before Justice Ehrcke to argue on behalf of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Sex Workers United Against Violence Society (“SWUAV”) and ex-prostitute Sheryl Kiselbach. They argued that Canada’s current prostitution laws put women working the streets of the Eastside at risk.

The heart of this case is to keep the most vulnerable of society safe, but I find this court challenge to be short-sighted and fundamentally flawed. If we know the women are suffering from many different issues, why are we not demanding what we all know they need: detox without a 24-hour and no need for a phone number (many women don't have one).

Why are we not demanding that we have long-term recovery beds, as we know these women's lives will not be repaired in a 3-month program. We need to help them with mental, emotional, spiritual and physical recovery as they transition into a healthier lifestyle. Why are we not raising BC's abysmal welfare rates?

Circumstances that Drive Women to Prostitution

Poverty, addiction and mental health issues drive women to the streets where they experience violence as a prostitute. Incidences of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are astronomical among former prostitutes. For the past 16 days I and the women of AWAN (Aboriginal Women Action Network) have been part of an International panel assembled by Vancouver Rape Relief to discuss prostitution and human trafficking

Colonialism, racism and residential schools have driven Aboriginal women to the streets. Let’s use our laws to punish the perpetrators of this violence against women and predators who think of women as a sub-class of human beings that can be bought and sold.

We could be arresting the owners of the brothels that run right now under the guise of “escort agencies” and “massage parlours”. We could jail the predators who offer up prostitution as a life option, or beat and coerce our youth into it.

Sweden, South Korea, Norway and other countries have all changed their laws in a way that supports women’s equality. I hope we as a country follow their lead and say we respect our women, all women, and make clear our women are not for sale.

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Comments

 
Posted 17/12/2008 at 10:31am

I fear most academics who study prostitution would disgree with you,Trisha. The Scandinavian fashion for punishing clients merely pushes prostitution further underground and forces more women into the shadows.

I heartily agree that more and better drug counselling would be a huge blessing to those forced into prostitution through addiction, though these cases are generally common only among some populations of street prostitutes, which make up only around 15-20% of prostitutes.

It's simply is not factual to describe ALL prostitution as violence to women. A significant proportion does not involve women at all and a further major slice consists of BDSM dominatrixes inflicting pain and humiliation on their male client 'slaves'. Another albeit tiny fragment consists of women in the roles of clients, and amongst the mainstream, forum sites abound showing the bulk of punters and prostitutes get along fine most of the time.

A Canadian study of parlours some months or maybe a year ago showed no violence to the girls working there, whose main fear lay in their property being stolen by co-workers.

Brothels are clearly much safer than the streets and could be safer still if decriminalised, allowing outreach workers to be able to locate sex workers more easily and promote safe sex practices, to the benefit of the wider community.

Crimininalisation of the sex industry, whether by existing laws or the Scandinavian approach, is both dangerous and ineffective.

Suzanne

Posted 17/12/2008 at 5:54pm

I agree with the desire to challenge the government for failing to provide the necessary levels of support for marginalized people; the disadvantage faced by so many people is only reinforced by our ignoring their real need for, as you say, better welfare rates, better access to health and addiction services, and numerous other social protections.
But Canadian Law is impoverished in the sense that our courts haven't yet recognized that under the Charter governments have any POSITIVE obligation to provide these things. So people who want to litigate for better situations for those on the margins of society are prevented from asking the state to DO something, and can really only ask the state to refrain from doing something.
It's not that that situation shouldn't change, and equality-seeking groups have been trying to get it to change for years, but litigation faces real limits on that front.
So asking the court to get rid of the laws that basically make people who are already disadvantaged and endangered even more disadvantaged and endangered is only one of many steps that is required for true social justice and equality to come to bear.


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