Prostitution Laws in Canada
Karlene Wright
November 19, 2014
Prostitution Laws in Canada
Introduction
Prostitution is considered by many to be the oldest profession. Throughout civilization many society have had to address the issue of prostitution. Canada is a nation renown for promoting the advancement of women in all parts of the world. However, it is a nation guilty of punishing women for the circumstances in which they find themselves. The prostitution laws in Canada shows an antiquated view on the issue of prostitution, it has failed to adequately protect women. It is important that prostitutes are given an opportunity to protect themselves by employing security personnel if necessary and choose the location for conducting business. This paper will demonstrate that the policies employed by the federal government enhance the harm prostitute’s faces. as a result of being prevented by law from taking steps to enhance safety. The importance of legislator to balance the individual rights of the prostitute against the interest of the collective society. Also, by regulating the industry would shift the power from the pimps and johns controlling the services.
Describing the topic
Prostitution is the practice of exchanging money for sexual services. While the exchange of sexual gratification for consideration between consenting adults is legal, the law prohibits those activities Parliament deems to be a threat to public order or offensive to public decency,
Canada is a nation renown as a liberal-leaning, forward nation; promoting the advancement of women in all parts of the world. However, it is a nation guilty of punishing women for the circumstances in which they find themselves with laws showing an antiquated view on the issue of prostitution—one that prosecutes sex workers instead of those who take advantage of women’s situations and buy sexual services. BY examining the origins of current-day laws concerning prostitution in Canada and looking at European legislation as well as its successes and failures made it is possible to find a middle ground that will suit Canada should it ever decide to change its laws concerning prostitution.
As part of McGill’s Community Engagement Day, I went on a walking tour of Montréal’s historical Red Light District presented by Karen Herland, professor and specialist in the history of prostitution. Her historical analysis (personal communication, October 2, 2015) of the neighbourhood gave great insights on morality and legislation issues regarding sex work, specifically about the relationship between authorities and prostitution as well as some of the impacts that these laws and other attitudes that regulate sex work have on women. Her astute reports lead us to the following proposition: the dynamics between authorities and sex work indicates that under the guise of “morality”, the laws in place and their application did not actually oppose sex work, they rather worked to limit women’s emancipation.
Canadian prostitution, the practice of exchanging money for sexual services” (Shaver, 2011) originally started in the 1800’s, and has never been an illegal act Canada. However, the dangers of the job, and safety risks these women are exposed to have always been prevalent on Canadian streets. The most common form of prostitution when the trade was established was off street prostitution. This can be defined as, “Prostitution that is issued out of escort agencies, massage parlours, private residences, brothels, bars, clubs, trick pads and bathhouses” (“Fact Sheet,” n.d.). [Correct Citation?]This industry thrived for decades with little no to police presence as the newly created transcontinental railways transported large masses of single men to the west coast. However, in 1890, new legal constrains, which were now enforced, made operating brothers a challenge and forced street prostitution to become more common, “street prostitution is a form of prostitution in which a sex worker solicits customers from a public place, most commonly a street, while waiting at street corners or walking alongside a street, but also other public places such as parks, benches, etc. The street prostitute is often dressed in a provocative manner.” (Shaver, 2011). When the number of women working the streets increased, the safety level decreased. In order to expand one’s knowledge on the dangers of female street prostitution, one must fully comprehend the differences between the two forms of
Overall, Bill C-36 attempts to create a new legal framing for prostitution in Canada and is rooted in the belief that prostitution is inherently violent and exploitative; therefore the intent is to protect sex workers from exploitation, protect communities from the harms caused by prostitution, and reduce the demand for sexual services. The framework of Bill C-36 seeks to “denounce and prohibit the purchase of sexual services, procurement of persons for the purposes of prostitution and the development of economic interests in the prostitution of others” (Canadian Criminal Justice Association, 2014). Even though the aim of Bill C-36 is to protect victims from exploitation and/or prevent exploitative situations, it does so at the expense of the lives of those in the sex trade. Bill C-36 creates the environment for exploitation to flourish by only
Prostitution is defined as “business of exchanging sexual services for martial compensation or financial befits” (Weitzer, R. J, p8). The practice usually happens legally in modern cites like Vegas, Berlin and
In Canadian law, buying or selling sexual services within Canada is considered legal. However, this controversial topic has raised discussions between people because of the possibilities of illegal activities inside the world of prostitution. From reading the newspapers to hearing it on the television, we know nothing good ever comes out of prostitution because of the exposure to the risky businesses and dangerous people. Prostitutes engages in a number of dangerous harmful activities such as taking drugs, rape, emotional and physical abuse, and the worst case scenario is death. In this thesis paper, I’ll be discussing the main points and arguments as to why prostitution should have been illegal to begin with and why Canada should
Decreasing violence and promoting safety is one of the many positive outcomes from legalizing prostitution. Engaging in conversation about the purchase of sex is illegal in Canada. Because of this, Meaghan (2002) argues that prostitutes are forced to work in unsafe locations away from police surveillance, rushing negotiations and not being able to make an safe decision about their client. Seals (2015), found prostitutes are fearful of legal recourse when they are victimized. Legalization would give prostitutes the same protection as the general public and would be able to press charges accordingly. Providing a registered place of business for licensing also limits instances of violence. Seib, C., Dunne, M. P., Fischer, J., & Najman, J. M. (2010), found that prostitutes who worked in regulated brothels were healthier and safer than prostitutes who worked in non-regulated brothels or on the streets. “Elaborate safety measures (panic buttons, listening devices, and management surveillance) allow managers to respond to unruly or violent customers quickly and effectively” (Weitzer, 2006, p. 35). This also would help limit the chance of Human sex trafficking as businesses would be consistently checked and positive relationships with law enforcement would be made.
Due to the fairly recent changes regarding the legality of prostitution in Canada, individuals who use and provide these services have been cautious (Warnica, 2015). Unfortunately, new laws may create more problems than benefits, such as, financial problems due to fewer people buying sex because it is illegal to do so. In this paper, I will explicate and assess the new changes to the law regarding prostitution in Canada, arguing that prostitution should be legal in Canada. Prostitution laws vary all over the world. Some jurisdictions are similar to Canada whilst others are extremely different. The United Kingdom is similar to Canada, as acts related to prostitution are illegal but prostitution itself is not. In Germany, Netherlands, and New Zealand prostitution is legal and so are brothels. However, in Argentina, France, Singapore and Greece brothels are illegal put prostitution is. There is no universal agreement on how governments should legislate or regulate prostitution.
Governments of Western nations are trying to change the appearance and the way prostitution is managed, little consensus exists but new laws are being adopted some met with fierce criticism. Prostitution is the sale of sexual services of oneself for money or goods and without
This article focuses on how women who engage in sex work in Canada (whether it is by choice or not), are exposed to dangerous conditions and are often times abused, because of the prostitution laws that have been imposed over time. Abrol forms comparisons between several different countries in order to discuss the outcomes that may result from the legalization and/or decriminalization of prostitution (Abrol 2014). After looking closely at the data, Abrol's research has led him to the conclusion that although there is "no simple solution to the question of sex work" (Abrol 2014) criminalizing it will not help control the issue in the long run. The criminalization of prostitution has not worked to protect sex workers but has had the exact opposite
Prostitution, according to Merriam-Webster, is the act of engaging in sexual activities in exchange of money. It is a business transaction between the sex worker and the client, one that is considered illegal here in America save for the brothels in Nevada.
It is rather odd to think that prostitution, which is considered to be the world’s oldest profession, would be illegal and harmful in nature. The issue of legalizing prostitution has entered public conversation around the world, which is severely divided. Many, like myself, consider prostitution to be a victimless crime. Despite such opposition to legalizing prostitution, many argue that legalizing it would result in decreased morality issues, increase the economic activity in the United States, and help decrease the number of sexually transmitted diseases among both prostitutes and those who patronize them,
Because proponents of anti-prostitution rhetoric try to misconstrue what is meant by the term prostitution, it is important to clearly specify the definition of the word, when discussing whether it should be decriminalized. The term prostitution refers to the voluntary act of engaging in sexual activities for the purpose of material gain. Often times, prostitution is falsely characterized as sex trafficking; however, these are tremendously different
Prostitution is ambiguous to define. The Macquarie dictionary defines prostitution as 1. the act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse 2. any base or unworthy use of talent, ability, etc. But the act of prostitution involves many other associated facets that are included under this extensive act. There’s the act itself, soliciting, advertising, pimping, house brothels, street prostitution, phone sex and even computer sex.
Before I entered this class, my imagination about what sociology is wasn’t of what it came to be after this class ended. First of all, before coming to this class, I didn’t know that prostitution was a social problem. I understand that being a prostitute is a sin, however I don’t think that a person should be punished by a society for being a prostitute. In other words, I thought that if a person is making money on his or her own body, it wouldn’t be a societal problem. Coming in this class, I have the knowledge that gay, lesbians or any other sexual orientation that isn’t heterosexuality was something that only exists in one’s mind and that if a person want to change their sexual orientation, he or she could. Therefore, in this class, after learning about sexual orientation, I accepted that people are born different and as society we should all accept that. Sexual orientation somehow I feel should require more large-scale intervention. In a lot places, LGBT people are discriminated. If God only created female and a male and that they only should be attracted to each other, let him only judge those whose feelings are different from what the bible states.