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 to criminalize sex work. Therefore, sex workers demand a permanent change in the law, their rights and freedoms in order to feel less threatened about their choice of work. This paper attempts to illustrate the legal terms of sex work, the main arguments made in the Bedford Case as well as an understanding of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Criminal Code, what sex workers face and are diligently demanding.
Prostitution is legal in Canada, and to be a sex worker is legal. However, almost every activity that is related to prostitution is considered illegal under the law. That is to say, in practice, prostitution is viewed as a criminal activity. Because prostitution is criminalized, it augments the attitude that they are not or less worthy of being protected or they simply “deserve what ever they get”. This stigma clearly marginalizes sex workers and allows for people to freely exploit, humiliate, harass, and physically abuse these individuals.
Sex workers are abused and exper...
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In the case of Canada v. Bedford, three sex workers in Ontario Canada, Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch and Valerie Scott, challenged the Charter as they stated that the following sections in the Criminal Code violate the rights promised and protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; CC s 210, CC s. 212(1) (j), and CC s. 213(1) (c). These sections “make it an offence to keep or be in a bawdy-house, prohibit living on the avails of prostition, and prohibits communicating in public for the purposes of prostitution,” (Canada v. Bedford, 2013, 6-3). The women claimed that these restrictions did not, in fact, prevent but implement more danger for anyone in the field of work. The women claimed that these restrictions went against their rights protected under s. 2(b) of the Charter as it disabled them from their right to freedom of expression (Canada v. Bedford, 2013, 6). As the provisions were set to prevent “public nuuisance” and “exploitation of prositutes,” they in fact go against the rights in s. 7 of the Charter. Thus, being under declaration of invalidity. This in fact brings upon question on whether it is the right decision to allow prostitution without any regulation in order to impose that the the Charter is not being violated, or whether to suspend the declaration until a proper method has been developed (while infringing the rights of those in the field of work). Ultimately, all of the laws were struck down by the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Human trafficking is “Modern Day Slavery,” in Canada today. From April 2007 to December 2013, there were 50 cases where human traffickers were found guilty, and from those cases, 97 people were convicted of human trafficking offenses. The Ontario Women’s Justice Network (OWJN) defines human trafficking as the recruitment and control of individuals that are exploited and taken advantage of against their will, (OWJN, p. 1- 2). There are various forms of human trafficking in Canada and the victims are vulnerable in all classes, genders, ages, and industries, but research needs to improve to validate concrete statistics. However, there are many Canadian sex workers that do object to the regulation of their chosen profession of prostitution
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In 2007, three prostitutes, Terri-Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch, and Valerie Scott came to the Canadian government to challenge the current prostitution laws after pending charges were laid against them for illegal acts prostitution (Chez Stella, 2013). The Bedford Case has opened up a debate on whether prostitution should be decriminalized in Canada. Through my research, I offer a comparative analysis of four approaches to prostitution, which aid in illustrating the effects that decriminalization would have on prostitutes, and women as a whole. The four states that I have compared are Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Australia. These countries each hold different views and policies on prostitution. Canada is currently criminalized, the Netherlands is a state in which prostitution is legalized, Sweden advocates abolitionism, and in Australia, prostitution is decriminalized. Through careful analysis I have determined the effectiveness of each of the policies, and which system I believe would be best for Canada’s future. Based on this investigation, I advocate that Canada ought to adapt a similar approach to Australia, decriminalizing prostitution as a means for social, economic, and legal stability for women. It is through decriminalization that prostitutes will have the opportunity to be actively involved in the community, and no longer marginalized members of society.
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“There is no difference in work in which a women sells her hands, such as a typist, and a work in which a women sells her vagina, as in sex work.” Claims author Lacy Sloan. In today’s society, many people believe that prostitution is an immoral act. It is the world’s oldest profession and because it has been long condemned, sex workers are stigmatized from mainstream society (ProQuest Staff). However, the act of purchasing sex between consenting adults should not be prohibited by the government, but regulated for society's overall best interests. Prostitution is illegal and as a consequence prostitutes are often victims of violence and sexual assault; therefore, prostitution should be legalized and regulated to ensure the safety of sex workers.
Esselstyn, T. (1968). Prostitution in the United States. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 367, 123-135. Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://ann.sagepub.com/content/376/1/123.full.pdf+html
I chose this research project because it appealed to me. I wanted to know how criminalization’s of sex work or prostitutions were causing structural violence in society. This presentation itself proved to be interesting in the sense that it goes against what my friends and I were thinking. I always thought that criminalizing sex work was a beneficiary for the society because that would stop the flow of HIV as well as other STI’s between sex worker populations. I never realized that it had the opposite the effect, and instead of being a beneficiary, it caused high-risk environments as well as even more ease to find a sex worker. At first, I thought that this research project was going to be about how the “Criminalization of Sex Work” was going to be about how Sex workers stopped working due to the criminalization, however as I came across it, it was the complete opposite and that grabbed my attention and made me curious, and now I completely understand why it was viewed as structural violence. The focus of this research project was to demonstrate to us that the policing of sex work do...
Barry, Kathleen. The Prostitution of Sexuality: The Global Exploitation of Women. New York: New York University Press, 1996. Print.
Rights and protections for sex workers includes a variety of goals being pursued by individuals and organizations surrounding the human and labor rights of sex workers. The goals of these policies generally aim to allow sex work and ensure decent treatment from legal and cultural forces on a local and international level for everyone involved in sex work. Sex workers refers to prostitutes, adult video performers, dancers in strip clubs, and others who provide sexually-related services. The back and forth argument over sex work is characterized as an women’s rights issue, especially by those who argue that prostitution is naturally unjust, but there are also males and gender non-binary individuals involved in offering sexual services. The
Prostitution is the occupational service where sexual acts are exchanged for payment. Opinions of prostitution have changed drastically over the course of half a century, and are being debated worldwide. Prostitution is a very controversial topic, however there are claims that legalizing prostitution could create an overall safer environment, not only for the sex workers but the rest of society. There has been many alterations in prostitution laws and enforcement practices in several countries. Many nations have created new laws or intensified existing penalties for prostitution-related offences such as soliciting sex, purchasing sex, or pimping. Some other societies are experimenting with policies that securitize prostitution.The claims proposing these regulations are important because they are directly opposed to both the conventional benefits of prostitution and the specific allegations of anti-prostitution crusaders. In Canada and the UK, the exchange of sex for money is not illegal. However, the activities that go along with prostitution are criminal offences.“In March 2012, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a ban on establishments for the purposes of prostitution, which effectively makes street prostitution illegal. In the US, most jurisdictions, prostitution, solicitation, or agreeing to engage in an act of prostitution are classified as illegal. With the exception of licensed brothels in certain areas in Nevada. In the Netherlands,prostitution was legalized in the mid-1800s but it wasn’t until recently, the 1980s sex work became a legal profession. Restrictions on brothels and pimping were lifted in October 2000 and the industry is now securitized by labour law. Prostitutes are registered as legal workers....
Sex work is an extremely controversial profession that has an exceptionally judgmental stigma connected with it. In Canada, however, some aspects of sex work are legal while others are not. Though, it is legal to sell your body it is illegal to run a bawdy, which is any place occupied for the purpose of protection more than once (Bruckert, 2014) Similarly, being able to smoke cigarettes under 19, but not being able to purchase them until the age of 19. Thus, these fine laws of sex work are outlined in the Charter of Right and Freedoms sections 210-213. Since sex work is a highly stigmatized job, many people are unaware of the occurrences these people face. On first thought, one may assume a prostitute is a drug abusing, disease ridden female who lives on the streets. We rarely assume that they would look like a “normal” person walking on the street. However, in fact just like any profession, some prostitutes may be drug addicts and have contracted a sexual transmitted disease but this could also describe the CEO of a large company. Unfortunately, due to the nature of their work, sex workers are at high risks of experiencing predatory violence. It is also important to note the difference between aggressors and clients. Client, are people who intent to pay for the services offered by the sex worker, if an dispute arises situational violence may occur. However, an aggressor is a person who intends on causing harm to a sex worker (Bruckert & Chabot, 2010). Nonetheless, a sex workers job requires them to be discrete which is a way protecting themselves against the law. Thus, many sex workers quickly get in in cars with strangers, go into strange houses and associate with the wrong crowd for t...