Canada needs to decriminalize prostitution immediately

Only then can the economics and sexism of the issue be resolved

Aranda Adams

Out of all the laws in Canada, those which criminalize prostitution are amongst the most discriminatory, harmful and regressive.

Having been defended by moral conservatives for generations, the federal Conservative government is keen on making progress regarding the issue – seen recently in historic court rulings in Ontario and British Columbia – a no-go. 

On Sept. 29, a day after an Ontario Superior Court judge struck down three of Canada’s anti-prostitution laws in a landmark case, federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced his government’s intention to appeal the ruling.

“Prostitution is a problem that harms individuals ... we will fight to ensure that the criminal law continues to address the significant harms that flow from prostitution to both communities and the prostitutes themselves,” Nicholson stated.

Of all the ignorant statements Nicholson has made over the past five years, this is one of the worst. 

What Nicholson and other anti-prostitution advocates don’t realize is that criminalizing prostitution itself harms people and communities.

The individuals who resort to prostitution overwhelmingly come from lower class and abusive family backgrounds. Almost all sex workers don’t want to be doing what they’re doing. Most are desperate to make a living or are forced into the sex trade by human traffickers.

The threat of incarceration does not and has not prevented these people from entering the trade, and has actually made them more prone to abuse by “purchasers” and their “owners” because it is an unregulated underground trade.

Prostitution is one of the oldest professions in history; there are an array of complex reasons and structural human demands for its existence (although our society should work towards reducing that demand).

With this in mind, decriminalization is a must.

But legalization is another issue. An increasing number of people argue that simply legalizing prostitution actually harms sex workers on a large scale. It reinforces in participants that they can be used as objects for their own sexual desire – a norm that in the case of legalization would be legitimized through law.

This is a real and serious reality. It has been proven that since countries, such as Australia, have legalized prostitution, abuse against sex workers is still rampant and the number of individuals resorting to prostitution has reduced.

Legalization alone does not reduce demand or provide the means and opportunities for prostitutes to leave the industry.

Passing laws regarding whether people should be sent to jail or not is not enough. An approach is needed to address the gender and class inequalities of our capitalist economy that create the conditions for these industries to flourish. Legislation regarding the economics of prostitution is also required.

Targeted social programs must be introduced as well. Then, government can address and solve the root causes of why sex workers overwhelmingly come from lower class backgrounds and what drives them to become prostitutes in the first place. 

From there, social programs and targeted job creation can be directed at helping sex workers by providing them with the means to leave the trade and towards better, self-respecting ways of living. 

If progress like this were to occur, legalization could then meaningfully occur also.

In making an effective effort to provide alternative ways of living and fair opportunities for the large majority of individuals who do not want to be in the sex trade, the ones who do want to still sell their services could do so safely.

Although the issue of the commodification of sex would still exist, it would involve two willing parties, and the seller would not have to do it out of desperation. 

Also, government could effectively regulate the industry and thereby reduce the transmission of sexual diseases and HIV/AIDS, thereby assuring that it’s practiced in a safe way.

Until then, Canada is a secular state and its laws should reflect this.

If the Harper government really wants to stop prostitution, decriminalization and targeted social programs would be a good first step. 

Matt Austman is a politics student at the University of Winnipeg.

Published in Volume 65, Number 9 of The Uniter (October 28, 2010)

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