Court strikes down prostitution laws

(Update)

It’s being called a major success for sex trade workers. Canada’s highest court has struck down three of the country’s key prostitution laws, declaring them unconstitutional. The Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling is not about whether prostitution should be legal or not, but about whether the government’s methods of controlling it put vulnerable women in danger.

The Supreme Court really stressed that fact in their ruling Friday, saying bans on brothels, street soliciting and people living off the avails of prostitution put the safety of sex trade workers at risk.

While the ruling to strike down those laws is a step towards safer work conditions, it doesn’t come with any immediate legislative changes. It will ultimately be up to Parliament to decide what to do next.

Its a day Terri-Jean Bedford thought she would never see. The retired dominatrix launched the fight to change Canada’s prostitution laws six years ago: “Extremely surprised. I came in thinking we wouldn’t get any because the judges are appointed by Harper. And Stephen Harper may take this decision and use it as toilet paper you know that.”

Bedford and two other women in the case argued the ban on bawdy houses forced them onto the streets. And the ban on living off the profits of prostitution meant they couldn’t hire bodyguards or drivers to keep them safe. They claimed talking with clients in public, kept them out of danger. These same concerns are constantly raised by women in the business who seek help at Hamilton’s Sexual Assault Centre. Lenore Lukasik-Foss is a Director at the Centre: “If you’re scared that you’re going to get arrested, at risk of legal repercussions, or did things to make yourself safe that were against the law, it put women in a hard situation and made many women unsafe.”

The landmark ruling is uniting sex trade workers all over the country.

Decision supporters: “Sweat and tears have gone into this fight. And what I say is we won, we won!”

“To me it means that hopefully sex trade workers will be able to work with more safety and dignity throughout the country.”

The clock is now ticking for Parliament which has been given one year to come up with a new policy for dealing with one of the world’s oldest professions.

Plaintiff Valerie Scott: “Let’s not be stupid federal government. Let’s do something progressive and not rewrite the laws. They didn’t rewrite the abortion law, they didn’t rewrite when being gay and lesbian became decriminalized, they shouldn’t rewrite when we have our rights.”

Federal Justice Minister Peter MacKay says he’s concerned about the decision. But he says his department will work to ensure Canada’s laws address what he calls the “significant harms” caused by prostitution.