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.
THEORY A OVERVIEW: Feminism
The Feminist Legal Theory closely looks at women and their position as legal subjects throughout history, and how these aspects have changed in regards to women as legal persons and the coorelating laws on gender themselves. The p...
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...prevent harm and set peace for society. So by looking at this theory, we can prevent those who are being deprived of their rights in an unconstitutional manner and are of no harm to society, thus preventing them from uneccessary punishment.
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The primary focus of the book was to give a manifest and latent demonstration of how the biased attitudes of society reflected the legal system, and vice versa. There were several issues that were discussed in the book, including abortion, infanticide, sexual assault, marriage, divorce, separation, child custody, seduction, rape, prostitution and labour legislation. Very early in the book it was made quite evident the struggles that women had encountered in their tough lives. It demonstrated their fight for the rights and privileges that many women of the world so commonly enjoy.
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The Disjunction Between the Women and the Individual Throughout history an idea that has been used to combat the fight for women’s rights is the idea of universalism. This idea, as Joan Scott presents in her work Universalism and the History of Feminism, was based on the concept that being an individual was celebrated and everyone was allowed to be their own valued individual in society. Many people would say that feminism is engulfed in universalism just on the definition of the word, Scott would disagree. Scott redefines what the “individual” is and how women’s attempt to become an “individual” creates the paradox of feminist speech.
During the period of first wave feminism, starting in the 1700s going on to the early 1900s, females were often seen as a liability and subsequently were often overshadowed by men, for example, a female could not inherit from their families as they were not seen as responsible. First wave liberal feminists aimed to achieve gender equality through changes in the law and wanted women to have a more participatory role within society. First wave feminists outlined that wome...
Gardner, T. J., & Anderson, T. M. (2012). Criminal Law (11th Edition ed.). Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.
For a long time traditional liberal legal theory has struggled to win gender equality through the courts, but has not made the necessary gains. This theory advises women to change their relationship to the male power structure, and offers two ways in which women can do this to attain equity: the “sameness” approach and the “difference” approach. The first approach, “sameness,” suggests that women should stress male-female similarities. Traditional theory justifies this approach by saying, “to the extent that women are no different from men they deserve what (men) have” (33). Traditional theory advises women who feel different to from men use the second approach, and stress t...
Throughout Sex Work and the Law: A Critical Analysis of Four Policy Approaches to Adult Prostitution Frances Shaver discusses the need for change for women working as prostitutes. Shaver explains the ongoing problem surrounding prostitution in Canada and provides four possible ways to resolve the issue in her work. Three well thought out points Shaver writes about are the health benefits as well as personal safety for the women in the sex industry. She also touches base on the decriminalization of prostitution and the impacts it will have on nearby neighborhoods and the residents as well as a few other topics. Although Shaver discusses important areas, she does leave out some particular parts for concern such as the issues surrounding minors involved in the sex industry as well as the men and women who are involuntarily put into prostitution also known as human trafficking. While Shaver touches base on extremely well thought out points and provides a solution for dealing with Canada’s prostitution problem, she fails to elaborate on a few major issues that should be discussed as well when discussing the decriminalization of prostitution.
The most related terms when women’s right is brought up are feminism and feminist. A feminist, by definition, is someone the fights for feminism. The definition of feminism, one the other hand, is very complex. Throughout history, the word has continuously had bad images and connotations thrown its wa...
One of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s primary goals of the Women’s Rights Project’s litigation was to prove that stereotypical treatment of gender under the law was unconstitutional. It was Ginsburg’s goal to make the Court realize that “the law’s differential treatment of men and women, rationalized as reflecting “natural” differences between the sexes, historically had tended to contribute to women’s subordination” (Ginsburg 11). Ginsburg carefully selected cases which she felt would produce the greatest results. To do this, she “pursue(d) a series of cases that illuminate(d) the most common instances of gender distinctions in the law (Ginsburg 14). In three cases, Reed v. Reed, Frontiero v. Richardson, and Craig v. Boren, Ginsburg was successful in arguing that legal distinctions on the basis of sex qualified as suspect classifications. Therefore the state must show a compelling interest in its legislation, and “must demonstrate that the means are necessarily related to the ends sought to be achieved by the statue and are the least restrictive” (Mezey 16). Today, it is debatable whether women are equal to men in the eyes of the law. However, without the Women’s Rights Project’s litigation of the nineteen seventies, women would be remain subjected to stereotypical legal treatment and thus would still be regulated to an inferior status of citizenship.
Feminist theory looks beyond the common male based perspectives and focuses on women’s perspectives and their roles within society. The feminist theory is still relevant in today’s society. In fact, feminism and the feminist theory will be relevant for as long as there is inequality in this world. For example, according to the United States Department of Labor, women still make 78 cents for every dollar men make, on average, in every career field. Additionally, violence against women is still a prevalent problem today. For instance, one in three women are victims of physical and sexual violence often committed by intimate partners. These statistics are higher in countries where women are treated and seen as property of their husbands. Lastly, reproductive rights are an important step to creating equality. Laws need to protect the rights of women to have freedom over their bodies in the way that men have control over
For example, section 213 of the original version of Criminal Code of Canada, states that it is illegal behavior if someone communicates, “in a public place or in any place open to public view, for the purpose of offering, providing or obtaining sexual services…” (Bruckert and Parent, 2006). This law is particularly harmful to racialized sex workers as it is practically impossible for them to do their job without engaging in this sort of behaviour. Non-marginalized sex workers, who have easier access to jobs in the sex industry off the street, do not have speak with clients prior to engaging in sexual intercourse. Everything is sorted out by a third party, so the sex worker themselves are not in danger of breaking this law. With this in mind, it seems as if this law specifically targets racialized sex workers, demonstrating the challenges of being racialized and trying to be a sex professional. In 2007, Terri Jean Bedford went up against the government of Canada in an attempt to get rid of these harmful laws pertaining to sex work, claiming they were unconstitutional (van der Meulen, 2017a). She won and the laws were modified, however, the new version of these laws still actively target racialized sex workers. The SCC stated in their decision that section 213 was unconstitutional because, “by prohibiting communication in public for the purpose of prostitution, the law prevents prostitutes from screening clients and setting terms for the use of condoms or safe houses. In these ways, it significantly increases the risk they face…” (Bennett, 2013). However, the government went around this ruling by modifying the laws ever so slightly that they were considered “new laws” but they infringe on the rights of sex workers to the same extent that the old laws had. It can be argued that the
Legal Information Institute. (2010, August 9). Retrieved February 17, 2012, from Cornell University Law School: http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/criminal_law