Ontario judge overturns Canada anti-prostitution laws

[Whisper]

A judge in Ontario has overturned key Canadian anti-prostitution laws, finding they force sex workers into the streets at risk to their safety.

She ruled with three prostitutes who had challenged bans on brothels, pimps and solicitation.

The ruling applies to Ontario province but could, if upheld on appeal, allow the rest of Canada to follow suit.

One sex worker said she no longer had to fear rape, robbery and murder. The government is weighing an appeal.

'Emancipation day'
Finding the laws unconstitutional, Justice Susan Himel called on the Canadian parliament to regulate the sex trade.

"These laws... force prostitutes to choose between their liberty, interest and their right to security of the person," she wrote in a 131-page ruling in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Plaintiff Terri Bedford, described in court documents as a prostitute who had been beaten and raped while working in the streets of Windsor, Calgary and Vancouver, said: "It's like emancipation day for sex trade workers."

Ms Bedford said she hoped to work as a dominatrix.

"The federal government must now take a stand and clarify what is legal and not legal between consenting adults in private," she said.

Justice Himel found national laws banning brothels, forbidding solicitation of clients, and banning Canadians from managing sex workers as pimps or madams violated a provision of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteeing "the right to life, liberty and security".

Supporters of the overturned laws fear the ruling will make Canada a haven for human traffickers.

The ruling will not go into effect for 30 days, giving the government time to appeal if it chooses.

Street prostitution in Canada has been under increased scrutiny in recent years following the trial of Robert Pickton, a Vancouver pig farmer convicted in 2007 in the killings of six sex workers.

Pickton is suspected in dozens more killings. A Canadian court this summer denied him a new trial.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11432138

[The Batman]

If only the states will follow. I don't see anything wrong with someone willfully selling their body.

[Whisper]

i'm mixed on it for allot of reasons. It goes deeper then an individual and their CONSCIOUS decesion to have sex for cash, i'm fine with that.
Its about extortion, corruption, diseases, drugs, human trafficking, etc....
When you look at amsterdam and other areas where prostetution is legal it usually attracts some dark side effects.

On the other hand if its legal then its far safer for the women involved.
Anything to prevent another Pickton. I hope BC pays special attention to this considering Pickton killed 49 prostitutes on the lower mainland. One of the worst serial killers in Canadian history, currently serving life in prison, 25yrs without chance of parole, the harshest punishment in Canada for murder.

[The Batman]

There just needs to be heavily regulated brothels that provide condoms, drug testing, and STD checks as frequent as possible and the clients should have to go through the same process as well.

I didn't even think about human trafficking as a possibility and that is a really horrible thing and that could become a problem.

[Whisper]

War were declared.

_______________________

Tory MP sees ‘the nation as the pimp’ if prostitution ruling stands

t’s caucus day on Parliament Hill and behind the closed doors of the Conservative meeting you can bet that when the Ontario court ruling decriminalizing prostitution is discussed, Joy Smith will speak up.

The Conservative MP from Winnipeg calls Tuesday’s ruling by a Superior Court justice “astounding and alarming.” And she wants it appealed, fearful other provinces will follow suit, leading to the federal government to become Canada’s “pimp.”

“My goodness we would have the nation as the pimp and that’s wrong and we can’t afford that,” she said in an interview Wednesday morning before going into caucus.

Ms. Smith is a bit of an expert on these issues. Just before the Senate rose for the summer, it passed her private member’s bill calling for a five-year minimum sentence for traffickers of minors.

Sex trafficking and prostitution are linked, she argues, noting studies she says show that where prostitution is legalized there is a significant increase in the expansion of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. For example in Amsterdam, Ms. Smith says there is an influx of human trafficking victims and some brothels have had to be closed down as a result.

Other countries where prostitution is legal have also experienced human trafficking problems.

“So why in the world would Ontario – I am speaking not for my government but for myself based on what I have done over the years – why in the world would this be happening? It’s astounding is what it is.”

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has said that the government is “very concerned” about the ruling. He is seriously considering an appeal.

“I am not the Justice Minister,” Ms. Smith said. “But I would strongly support that. There are so many women and children at risk. And I am astounded at this kind of thing would come forward in Ontario.

“We have to protect our women and children. We can’t afford [to decriminalize prostitution].”

Indeed, Natasha Falle, the head of Sex Trade 101, an organization based in Toronto that represents victims and survivors of the sex trade, refers to Ms. Smith as an “angel.” Ms. Falle knows of what she speaks, having worked as a prostitute for 12 years, beginning at age 14 and then being “trafficked across the country” by her pimp, who she married at 17.

“We are so happy to have her voice,” Ms. Falle told CTV of the Conservative MP. “It’s only been in the last few years since all those missing and murdered aboriginal women turned up dead did anybody care about us. So to have her speak out the way she is against this – what this means is so empowering.”

Ms. Falle wants the ruling appealed, too. She says it does nothing to protect sex trade workers. Calling the ruling “misguided,” she said, for example, the issue of where a sex-trade worker conducts her business – behind closed doors or in “outdoor locations” – makes no real difference.

“I’ve worked at both indoor and outdoor locations and they are equally dangerous,” she said. “In fact, working behind closed doors put me at a greater risk than working on a street corner because at least on a street corner I was visible to the public.”

Ms. Smith, meanwhile, is continuing to support the victims of human and sex trafficking. Recently, she put together a national strategy that she has given to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other cabinet ministers. It calls for counseling for victimized women, educational opportunities and support for them after they are rescued from trafficking rings.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/tory-mp-sees-the-nation-as-the-pimp-if-prostitution-ruling-stands/article1732207/

[Asylum]

i say that there is nothing wrong with someone selling their body. Although I disapprove, and it can hurt someone, people have free will, and if they know what might happen to them goign into it, they need to accept the STDs and ect. However I think that the government should give them hlep if they are doing it for money, so if someone was doing it for money, they should have more shelters and give them job oppurtunities other then prostitution.