2/17/2014

Public Consultation on Prostitution-Related Offences in Canada

Department of Justice
Home > Consultations

Public Consultation on Prostitution-Related Offences in Canada

Thank you for your submission to the Public Consultation on Prostitution-Related Offences in Canada. Your submission has been received.

Consultation Questions
1. Do you think that purchasing sexual services from an adult should be a criminal offence? Should there be any exceptions? Please explain. Comment: No, I do not think that purchasing sexual services from an adult should be a criminal offence. There will always be a demand for the "world's oldest profession". In 1999, Sweden criminalized the buying of sex and pimping, while the selling of sex by prostitutes remained legal. The law targeted the predominantly-male johns and pimps, in an effort to stop the violence of prostitution perpetrated against Swedish women. Supporters of the reform, such as Gunilla Ekberg, praised the law as part of a sexual liberation of women, freeing her from a severe form of sexual exploitation so that she may truly exercise her right to do what she wants with her body. Ekberg further asserted that since the enactment of the feminist law, street prostitution has declined in all parts of the country, and the majority of prostitution buyers have disappeared. However, MP Libby Davies during the the 2005 "Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws of the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness" hearings responded to Ekberg's acclaim of the Swedish model of criminalizing the customer by pointing out that it has merely driven prostitution underground. The criminalization of prostitutionrelated offences, whether it be the criminalization of the prostitutes or the johns, merely drives it into the black market -- where the dangers of such activities, as highlighted by the SCC in Bedford, go unregulated. Of course, there should be exceptions made where the john has purchased sexual services from an underage and/or trafficked person. 2. Do you think that selling sexual services by an adult should be a criminal offence? Should there be any exceptions? Please explain. Comment: No. As aforementioned in my response to Question #1, there will always be a supply/demand for the "world's oldest profession". The purchasing and selling of sexual services between consenting adults should never be a criminal offence. Women (who are more often the sellers of sexual services than men) should be free to do what they want with their bodies, as should any adult who possesses rational mental capacity. 3. If you support allowing the sale or purchase of sexual services, what limitations should there be, if any, on where or how this can be conducted? Please explain. Comment: There should not be any limitations on where/how prostitution can be conducted that are not already afforded under existing laws (Criminal Code, municipal zoning provisions, etc.). The SCC in Bedford noted that the anti-communication provision, which it ultimately struck down as unconstitutional, was aimed at "[taking] prostitution 'off the streets and out of public view' in order to prevent the nuisances that street prostitution can cause" [para 147]. If people are so worried about prostitutes soliciting near elementary schools, then the existing laws can be used to achieve that goal (e.g. Criminal Code s. 180(2), municipal zoning so that bawdy houses are not placed in residential areas, etc.).

http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cons/curr-cours/proscons-conspros/process.cfm

1/3

2/17/2014

Public Consultation on Prostitution-Related Offences in Canada

4. Do you think that it should be a criminal offence for a person to benefit economically from the prostitution of an adult? Should there be any exceptions? Please explain. Comment: It should not be a criminal offence for a person to benefit economically from the prostitution of an adult, except in cases where the situation is one of exploitation. If the prostitute is a rational adult, who consents to the passing on of some of her obtained economic benefits to this third party, not under duress, then that arrangement should not be illegal. 5. Are there any other comments you wish to offer to inform the Government's response to the Bedford decision? Comment: Libertarian and contractarian viewpoints posit that the state should not have the right to tell a person that they cannot use their body to sell sexual services, if they so contract to do so. The abolition/Nordic model does not account for the inherent demand for and supply of sexual services -- regardless of whether johns or prostitutes are the ones who are being criminalized. For example, Dr. Melissa Farley (who testified in the Bedford trial decision, 2010 ONSC 4264, before Justice Himel), an ardent supporter of the Nordic model, has advocated that "Johns who buy women, groups promoting legalized prostitution, and governments that support state-sponsored sex industries comprise a tripartite partnership that endangers all women" [Farley, M. (2004). ''Bad for the Body, Bad for the Heart'': Prostitution Harms Women Even if Legalized or Decriminalized. Violence Against Women, 10, 1087-1125. Retrieved from http://vaw.sagepub.com/content/10/10/1087]. However, Justice Susan Himel (and in our legal system, the trial judge is the one who is primarily tasked with assessing all the expert evidence in a case) dismissed Dr. Farley's evidence because Dr. Farley's extreme feminist advocacy unduly influenced her research and detracted from her conclusions [paras 353-356]. To argue from a contractarian standpoint in defense of decriminalization of prostitution does not necessarily entail that one morally approves of prostitution -- for example, one can argue for trade union rights while simultaneously calling for the abolition of capitalist wage labour. Decriminalization can merely serve as a practical way for the government to address the problems associated with the sex trade [Jeffrey, L., & Sullivan, B. (2009). Canadian Sex Work Policy for the 21st Century: Enhancing Rights and Safety, Lessons from Australia. Canadian Political Science Review, 3.1, 57-76. Retrieved from http://ojs.unbc.ca/index.php/cpsr/article/view/48/168]. Such was the case in Australia, where territorial governments implemented prostitution law reforms but emphasized that permitting a legal sex worker industry did not imply the state's moral approval of the trade itself. Australia provides a good comparative study for Canada because of our shared British legal heritage, the similar federal parliamentary political system, and its familiar political culture. Moreover, until the late 1970s, all Australian jurisdictions had similar prostitution laws as Canadas existing regime today [Jeffrey & Sullivan, 2009:62]. As such, the liberalization of Australian prostitution laws since the 1970s helps illustrate the benefits of the same in Canada. Contrary to the claims of radical feminist ideology, the decriminalization of prostitution in Australia has not led to more trafficking, more child prostitution, or an overall expansion of the sex industry [Jeffrey & Sullivan, 2009:63] [Weitzer, R. (2009). Legalizing Prostitution: Morality Politics in Western Australia. British Journal of Criminology, 49.1, 99. Retrieved from http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/content/49/1/88.abstract] [2010 ONSC 4264 at para 204]. Furthermore, the availability of legal indoor sex work in Australia drastically increased the safety of its workers and bolstered public perceptions that prostitutes are entitled to the same rights as others [Jeffrey & Sullivan, 2009:64-65]. 6. Are you are writing on behalf of an organization? If so, please identify the organization and your title or role: Comment: No, I am writing personally as a Canadian citizen of full voting age and capacity.
http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cons/curr-cours/proscons-conspros/process.cfm 2/3

2/17/2014

Public Consultation on Prostitution-Related Offences in Canada

Date Modified: 2014-02-17

http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cons/curr-cours/proscons-conspros/process.cfm

3/3