The Issue Of Sex Work

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.

Prostitution is considered as a control of taking part in sexual exercises with somebody for cash. In Canada, it is lawful to offer sexual administrations yet it is considered as a wrongdoing to purchase sexual administrations from others. When we talk about prostitution it is important to consider that which type of women is engaging in sexual activities for money. It is considered that the more than half of the women doing sex work is due to the sexual abuse during their childhood. Some of them are resulted from homelessness. Child abuse is considered as the

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

Additional prohibitions are placed on any advertising for sexual services which include newspapers, online, or other forms of media (Department of Justice Canada, 2014). This policy is greatly influenced by the Swedish Model argues that it is society’s responsibility to outlaw the purchase of sexual services on the understanding that ‘women are vulnerable’ and sex trade is never a choice (Cosh, 2014). Mainly, the new prohibitions will be supported by $20 million in new funding, with an emphasis on programs that can help individuals exit prostitution.

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

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

In this book, editors Gillian Abel, Lisa Fitzgerald, Catherine Healy, and Aline Taylor recount the various ways that New Zealand decriminalized all sectors of sex work. It provides first-hand views and experiences of this policy from those involved in the sex industry, as well as people involved in developing, implementing, researching and reviewing the policies. By evaluating New Zealand’s framework of decriminalization, and by extension the Prostitution Reform Act, these editors provide a complete picture of radical legal reform in an area of current policy debate that can later be reference by policy makers and activists.

In 2013 the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) struck down the Country’s existing prostitution laws because they violated Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (hereafter referred to as The Charter) as they infringed in a sex workers right to life, liberty and security, specifically because while the act of being a sex worker was not illegal, many of the aspects around it were which was deemed unjust (Perrin, 2014: 6-7). This case is important not only because of the way it effects sex workers, but because when the law was sent back to parliament to be revised the resulting law ended up being far different than the original claimants desires. This case demonstrates one of the ways Parliament and the SCC interact with each other as a

First, I will discuss what aspects of the law have been changed in Canada and what this means for prostitutes and their clients. I will then further discuss the points that adults can consent to sex and that the government has no right to completely ban consensual sex involving financial transactions between adults. In addition, individuals should be free to do what they want in regard to their own bodies and should be able to decide with whom they want to

Sometimes, the term “sex work” is used, as well as “prostitution”. But whichever term we choose to say, it does not eliminate the stigma attached to it. Cases such as the Bedford V. Canada Case (144) indulges into the conspiracy of sex work and challenges certain sections of the Criminal Code that make business in relation to prostitution illegal. Ideally, a sex worker has a career just as a teacher or lawyer. For this reason, their human rights and dignity should be protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as are other professions. However, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as the Criminal Code do not seek to protect sex workers, yet, they seek to do otherwise using certain sections of the Criminal Code

Bedford vs. Canada resulted with parliament having to reform Canada’s prostitution laws, these changes raised question on the communities within Canada and if they have respect of law and have the tolerance of prostitution (Morton 229 2012 ). Prostitution is technically legal in Canada, although technically legal, the laws surrounding prostitution make it very difficult to conduct prostitution legally (Morton pp 229 2012). Because it is against the law to advertise in the streets, make a living off prostitution, or be in or involved with a bawdyhouse most exchanges must be done in near secret conditions leaving the individuals susceptible to victimization. There are many problems associated with prostitution so in attempts to make it a safer environment for them, a law reform has been in discussion, but how

Sexual favours in return for money, just the thought of this has people cringing, although laws have deemed to move forward with the idea of prostitution it seems although socially there has not been much progress. The idea of prostitution still scares, or one could even go as far to say it disgusts people. The lack of knowledge and awareness of the details of sex work create this ongoing hate towards sex work, which continues to stigmatize sex workers. Regardless of changing laws, regardless of changing policies, why is it that sex workers are still afraid to proudly announce that their job is in fact the job of a sex worker? Unfortunately, it seems as though the idea of sex work that seems to be such a terrible one is not what bothers sex workers the most, it is the social misconception of what sex work is like that leads these individuals to feel highly stigmatized (Van der Meulen and Redwood, 2013). The primary harm for of prostitution seems to be the stigma against prostitution, women involved in prostitution are considered socially invisible as full human beings (Farley, 2004). Why is it that our changing and progressing laws are still unable to remove this stigma from the lives of sex workers? This paper will argue that prostitution laws continue to produce stigma around sex work. It will argue this through revisiting the historical laws, examining present laws and ongoing laws at this time.

In the Listen Up reading “Reality Check” it talks about her struggle with the possibility of working a job that she feels like would sexualize her and this makes me interested in feminist discussions regarding sex work/prostitution. I have many feminist friends who have a wide range of opinions regarding sex work, some believe it only sexualizes women and forces them to degrade themselves for money, but others believe that it allows the women that choose the profession to empower themselves. I would really like if we could read more pieces about sex work and discuss in class the opinions that the feminist movement has had regarding sex workers. Also, I think it would be interesting to talk about the Nordic countries policy of charging those

The term sex work gives a negative meaning by itself. Though being a part of the same society they are denied the right to vote and dignity. They are criticized and a considered a stigma and therefore are denied the fundamental right which they are guaranteed to all citizens of India, i.e. right to life, liberty and dignity. They are often the subject of abuse, violation and harassment. It is thought that the sex workers threatens the structure of the family life and are therefore most often ostracized by the society and further, the Society views sex workers as morally corrupt , and thus are considering them guilty and deserving of the abuse and violations.