OTTAWA – “The Government of Canada has demonstrated it is taking leadership in combatting human trafficking,” says Don Hutchinson, vice-president with The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC). “Given that the primary reason for trafficking of persons is for use in the sex for sale industry, a review of Canada’s existing prostitution laws is an essential part of developing a strategy to pursue an end to trafficking in persons.”
On Thursday, March 1, 2012, The EFC and Defend Dignity will host a breakfast discussion for Members of Parliament and Senators on the subject of Prostitution Laws in Canada: Where are we headed? That evening, there will be an event open to the public at Cedarview Alliance Church in Ottawa on the same topic.
In a much-publicized 2010 decision, Justice Susan Himel of the Ontario Superior Court struck down three provisions of Canada’s prostitution law as unconstitutional. An appeal is awaiting decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal, and is anticipated this spring.
“Now is the time for Parliament to begin considering the best way forward in Canada with respect to prostitution laws,” says Julia Beazley, Policy Analyst with the EFC. “In reality, Canada’s existing prostitution laws neither protect prostituted women from harm nor effectively discourage prostitution. It falls to Parliament to implement laws that are more effective in regard to prostitution, the number one reason for trafficking in persons. To this end, the EFC has encouraged the federal government to reform our laws in a manner consistent with the legal and social framework implemented in Sweden. The Swedish government was the first to recognize that it was essential to focus the law’s punitive powers not on those who were being sold, but on the pimps and johns.”
In 1999, Sweden enacted the Ban on the Purchase of Sexual Services, becoming the first country to decriminalize prostituted women and instead criminalize those who buy (johns), export, import and market (pimp) them. The Swedish government took the view that prostitution is a form of sexual violence against and exploitation of women, contrary to any sense of equality between the sexes. As such, they enacted laws with the goal of abolishing prostitution by eliminating demand, while offering prostituted women a way out. This approach was duplicated in Norway and Iceland, and is now referred to as the ‘Nordic model of law.’
“In 2010, an independent inquiry was established to study how well the change in law has worked and the effects it has had on rates of prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes in Sweden. The evaluation shows that the ban has been an unmitigated success,” continues Beazley. “Shortly after its introduction, street prostitution in Sweden was reduced by half, and has not shown any bounce-back. Before the ban, rates of street prostitution in the capital cities of Norway, Denmark and Sweden were comparable. While rates in Sweden decreased by half, the other countries experienced significant increases over the ten year period. Also significant has been the reduction in organized crime and human trafficking in Sweden since the ban was implemented.”
It has now been demonstrated in several countries that legalizing prostitution results in a corresponding spike in the trafficking of women and girls for use in prostitution. At the same time, implementation of the Nordic model of law has resulted in both decreased prostitution and decreased human trafficking.
The keynote speaker for the breakfast and the public event is Trisha Baptie. A survivor of prostitution, Trisha has become a powerful voice for exploited women and the abolition of prostitution, founding EVE (Formerly Exploited Voices Now Educating) and now working as Executive Director of Honour Consulting Ministries. Trisha will share from her personal experience and about her recent visit to Sweden to speak with prostituted women and government officials regarding the impact of their legal and social framework on prostitution.
“Prostitution must be seen for what it is – violence against women and an affront to gender equality,” says Glendyne Gerrard of Defend Dignity. “We must recognize that if we allow men to purchase sex, we are agreeing that there will be a group of human beings who must be made available for purchase; a group that is dominated by poor, marginalized and, in Canada, aboriginal women."
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For more information or an interview contact:
Rick Hiemstra, Director of Media Relations
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
(613) 233-9868, ext. 332
MediaRelations@theEFC.ca