It’s a haunting sight in any city where street lights meet the night; a car stopping on the side of the road as a woman or young girl leans into the passenger window in some secretive discussion before she climbs into the vehicle with a perfect stranger.

            It might look like a scene from any old movie or maybe straight from a chapter of a book. But it’s as real of a scene on any given night where the cops won’t see the brief communication that’s currently criminalized by Canada’s Criminal Code.            

 

However, if the Supreme Court goes through with changing the prostitution laws in Ontario, then Canada could be looking at a slow but serious change for sex-trade workers all over the country.

            In 2009, three women posed a constitutional challenge to laws prohibiting keeping a common bawdy house, communicating for the purposes of prostitution and living on the avails of prostitution.

            Justice Susan Himel moved to strike down the laws in Supreme Court just this year but the federal government appealed that. The stay of proceedings has been extended until April 29, 2011.

Trisha Baptie, the founder of Honour Consulting and former prostitute in Vancouver, says in a phone interview that these are the laws that make sex-trade workers unsafe.

            “It’s decriminalizing women by criminalizing men. It’s violence against women. For them, it’s a lack of choice. You don’t choose to be there. There’s no moderation in order to keep women safe.

            “Criminalizing men for prostitution doesn’t interfere with current prostitution work. It interferes with the men.”

            The federal Justice Department has argued in recent weeks that decriminalizing prostitutes would mean an increase in illegal activities like drug trafficking, violence and the destruction of communities.

            In essence, they have said that by striking down the laws associated with the sex-trade, that Ontario would welcome more movement of prostitutes to that region.

             “It’s the people who exploit the women. They aren’t provided with an exit strategy or a livable form of welfare or access to education or jobs they can raise their children with,” says Baptie

According to the Coalition against Trafficking in Women, 70 to 80 per cent of those involved in Canada’s sex industry began as children. 80 to 95 per cent do so while fleeing sexual abuse that usually began at home. There are children as young as 11 who wind up in prostitution.

 “It’s inadequate. There is no exit strategy or long-term counselling. Women who leave prostitution have astronomical mental health problems. They need long-term rehabilitation. That’s the most important thing.

“Most places have three months of recovery time. That’s not enough for a woman to fully understand that she’s safe.”

According to statistics, sex-trade workers are 60-120 times more likely to be murdered than those who aren’t in the sex-trade industry.

Amy Lebovitch, spokesperson for the Sex Professionals of Canada, told the media that the laws she and two other women are fighting to change are affecting people on the streets right now. The prohibition of keeping bawdy houses and brothels means that many prostitutes are driven to walking the streets instead of working safely indoors.

Still, the Justice Department argues that striking down the laws would mean irreparable damage to public interest.

In contradiction, Baptie says that women who get involved with prostitution do so as survival tactic in spite of what some stereotypes tell the rest of the world. 

“They are categorized as unique to other women. That’s not true. What is true is she has been marginalized. (The stereotype) that they are unfit parents, they are there by choice…if we didn’t want to do it we wouldn’t do it. 4

“Single moms do anything to provide for their children. We forced her into it. She’s there because she cares. There’s been this abandonment by society.”

Back in October, undercover police in Lethbridge arrested 13 men and three women on prostitution-related charges.

The men were charged with communicating to obtain sexual services from a prostitute. The women were charged with communicating in a public place for the purpose of prostitution.

In another case, four Lethbridge seniors were arrested back in January 2010.

Lethbridge police decided to release the names of those apprehended in prostitution-related activities. Police are looking to crack down on prostitution in the area. The sex-trade workers who get arrested will be offered local outreach services in attempts to help them get out of prostitution.

If Ontario laws are changed in the spring, it will mean that prostitutes there are free to work indoors and away from the threats of walking the streets. They’ll also be able to work in groups, hire bouncers and bodyguards.

They’ll have the choice to pick up the phone and call police if they feel unsafe without being arrested for breaking the current bawdy house law.