Justice committee review of prostitution laws (PCEPA)

Canada’s prostitution laws were reviewed by a parliamentary committee in early 2022, with a report published in late June. See the EFC's response released in July 2022, and also see below for materials related to the anticipated Oct. 2022 CASWLR court case.

The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) recognizes that prostitution is inherently exploitive and dangerous. It has the goal of ending the demand for paid sex. Under PCEPA, buying sex and pimping are criminalized, while those who are prostituted are given immunity from criminal prosecution.

There are groups asking for the prostitution laws to be repealed (including an Ontario court case expected to be heard in Oct. 2022). However, research shows the most effective way to curb sexual exploitation and end the harms of prostitution is to target the demand for paid sex. PCEPA is an effective and essential tool in fighting sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

You can contact your MP to tell them you support current laws that criminalize the actions of customers and pimps.

Resources

• Letter to justice minister on PCEPA review report (Oct. 2022)
• Court case Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform v. Canada expected to be heard in Oct. 2022
• Blogs
  • Justice committee releases report (The EFC's response, July 2022)
  • Our laws are not just constitutional, but safer (Mar. 2022)
  • Violence and stigma are inherent to prostitution (Mar. 2022)
  • Sex trafficking increases with decriminalization (Mar. 2022)
  • Prostitution preys on vulnerabilities (Mar. 2022)
  • The intersection of human trafficking and prostitution (Feb. 2022)
• EFC submission to Standing Committee on Justice on PCEPA (Feb. 2022): pdf
• Short sample letter and phonecall script to call your MP (Feb. 2022): pdf or docx.
• Longer sample letter to write your MP (Aug. 2020, revised Feb. 2022): pdf or docx.
• Backgrounder: What's at stake in prostitution law review? (Oct. 2020)