Prostitution in Canada Essay

Additional prohibitions are placed on any advertising for sexual services which include newspapers, online, or other forms of media (Department of Justice Canada, 2014). This policy is greatly influenced by the Swedish Model argues that it is society’s responsibility to outlaw the purchase of sexual services on the understanding that ‘women are vulnerable’ and sex trade is never a choice (Cosh, 2014). Mainly, the new prohibitions will be supported by $20 million in new funding, with an emphasis on programs that can help individuals exit prostitution.

As part of McGill’s Community Engagement Day, I went on a walking tour of Montréal’s historical Red Light District presented by Karen Herland, professor and specialist in the history of prostitution. Her historical analysis (personal communication, October 2, 2015) of the neighbourhood gave great insights on morality and legislation issues regarding sex work, specifically about the relationship between authorities and prostitution as well as some of the impacts that these laws and other attitudes that regulate sex work have on women. Her astute reports lead us to the following proposition: the dynamics between authorities and sex work indicates that under the guise of “morality”, the laws in place and their application did not actually oppose sex work, they rather worked to limit women’s emancipation.

Canadian prostitution, the practice of exchanging money for sexual services” (Shaver, 2011) originally started in the 1800’s, and has never been an illegal act Canada. However, the dangers of the job, and safety risks these women are exposed to have always been prevalent on Canadian streets. The most common form of prostitution when the trade was established was off street prostitution. This can be defined as, “Prostitution that is issued out of escort agencies, massage parlours, private residences, brothels, bars, clubs, trick pads and bathhouses” (“Fact Sheet,” n.d.). [Correct Citation?]This industry thrived for decades with little no to police presence as the newly created transcontinental railways transported large masses of single men to the west coast. However, in 1890, new legal constrains, which were now enforced, made operating brothers a challenge and forced street prostitution to become more common, “street prostitution is a form of prostitution in which a sex worker solicits customers from a public place, most commonly a street, while waiting at street corners or walking alongside a street, but also other public places such as parks, benches, etc. The street prostitute is often dressed in a provocative manner.” (Shaver, 2011). When the number of women working the streets increased, the safety level decreased. In order to expand one’s knowledge on the dangers of female street prostitution, one must fully comprehend the differences between the two forms of

CTV News shared breaking news on October, 23, 2013 that four Romanian women were found being victimized to human trafficking in Montreal. These women were lured to Canada hoping that they would find a better future but instead were forced into prostitution (2013). Human trafficking is an issue that is rarely acknowledged by Canadians. Most people are either unaware of the problem or do not recognize it as something that is happening in their own backyard. Although Canadians are exposed to the severity of human trafficking in other countries, Canadian citizens are unaware of the fact that Canada is not only a transit point for the United States but also a destination country. Information from the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre states “The RCMP

Sex work is a very controversial topic and many individuals are passionate about what they believe. Regardless of the moral arguments, beliefs and disbeliefs, every person in Canada owns the right to have their human rights as well as their health respected one hundred percent. The Courts of Canada have focused on the precise question of whether or not Canada's current laws abide by the Constitution and serve to protect the human rights of the persons engaging in sex work.

In 2013 the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) struck down the Country’s existing prostitution laws because they violated Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (hereafter referred to as The Charter) as they infringed in a sex workers right to life, liberty and security, specifically because while the act of being a sex worker was not illegal, many of the aspects around it were which was deemed unjust (Perrin, 2014: 6-7). This case is important not only because of the way it effects sex workers, but because when the law was sent back to parliament to be revised the resulting law ended up being far different than the original claimants desires. This case demonstrates one of the ways Parliament and the SCC interact with each other as a

Social Imagination is the ability to understand how your own past relates to that of other people, as well as to history in general and social structures in particular. Basically it is a way of seeing our own and other people's behavior in relationship to history and social structure. Statistics show that at this given moment there are over 40 million prostitutes at work in the world. That is more than the populations of Canada and Australia. Prostitution is legal within 22 countries.

In his book Love For Sale, Nils Johan Ringdal wrote, “If nobody wants to sell sex, it is a crime to force anyone to do so. But when men or women do want to sell their bodies, they should have that full right without encountering punishment or discrimination.” Prostitution, often described as the world’s oldest profession is a legitimate criminal offence in 109 countries of the world today (“Human Trafficking Statistics”). Laws on prostitution vary considerably from country to country: in some countries it is punishable by death penalty ("Iran - Facts on Trafficking”), in some it is a crime punishable by prison sentence, while in other jurisdictions, it is a lesser administrative offense punishable only with a fine ("The Sentencing and

Like many countries in the world, prostitution in Germany is legal under strict regulations. Prostitution in Germany dates back to many centuries and although it was never legalized, prostitution was never illegal and discrete brothels existed. In 2002, Germany implemented the Act Regulating the Legal Situation of Prostitutes that was intended to improve the legal status of prostitutes, improving the social position of prostitutes, improving working conditions of prostitutes, cut grounds from under the criminal activities, and make it easier for people to get out. In doing so, according to Havocscope, a website that focuses on global black market information, it is estimated that the legalized and regulated industry generates about $18 billion per year. Prostitution in Germany is legal in all types of forms, from brothel worker to streetwalker, but only in commercial and industrialized zones (Kavenmann, 6) and the largest Red Light District in Europe resides in Hamburg, Germany. Additionally, in order to make sure that not just brothel workers are paying taxes, the city of Bonn has passed a law that streetwalkers are required to have a ticket that costs 6 euros every night that allows them to work. If caught without one, they could face high fines. (NYT, In Germany, Sex Workers Feed a Meter). One of the aims of the Prostitution Act of 2002 was to help women exit prostitution if they wanted to. Today there are Exit programs that exist in Germany to

In Germany, since prostitution has been legalized, they receive health insurance, social benefits, and they pay taxes. In Greece, they have followed what Germany is doing till this day. They have legalized prostitution in New Zealand, Austria, Denmark, Ecuador, and Netherlands.

between and within nations. Thus in the United States areas of minimal regulation exist alongside states with highly interventionist policies. Significant differences also exist in how European governments have sought to control prostitution. The measures adopted range from the legalised red-light districts of Hamburg to the tolerance of window prostitution in Amsterdam and the arresting of male clients in Sweden. Closer to home, across the Tasman in Australia there are distinct differences in the ways state governments view and attempt to regulate the sex industry. These will be examined later in this section.

Prostitution is an act of engaging in sexual activities in exchange for immediate payment or financial gain. Prostitution is too described as a dangerous and exploitative institution relatively close to slavery. Recently, France and Germany have started to amend their prostitution laws to increase the possibility of risk for paying for sex. France following in the steps of Sweden have decided to switch their prostitution laws to the Swedish or also known as the Nordic model, where sex work is legal but paying for it is not. This essay will discuss why prostitution laws that criminalise sex buyers rather than sex workers should be implemented.

Prostitution has been a part of our world's culture since the beginning of time, and is the world's oldest profession. Prostitution is defined by the Webster dictionary as “the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money.” If prostitution were legalized, there would a reduction in sex crimes, American citizens would have the freedom to choose any profession within the sex industry and it would provide economic benefits for the local and federal governments, as well as the population.

Germany had for many years, like the Netherlands, tolerated prostitution with a de facto decriminalization and allowed numerous brothels to openly operate. Their country further liberalized this activity when the Berlin federal court ruled in 2000 that prostitution is not immoral activity. Thereupon, that decision led the way to the formalization of a legalized model of prostitution one year later. Germany has since completely commercialized prostitution and their country hosts corporate chains of brothels. Thus, European sex workers, particularly those from Eastern Europe, have immigrated to Germany in large numbers and this country now hosts the most prostitutes per capita in Europe. In total, there are as many as 400,000 prostitutes working in Germany in an estimated 15 billion Euro industry.

In France, prostitution is legal but it may not be for much longer due to the amount of reform that has taken place over the past 70 years. Since 1946, France has slowly but steadily gone through the process of abolishing prostitution altogether with groundbreaking legislation and controversy at the focal point. Throughout history, France has been known as the model for regulatory prostitution in terms of having it be a legitimate enterprise. However, controversy and issues of illegal activity, disease, and public outcry questioning the morality of the business has led France to where it is today; an abolitionist country with the goal of abolishing prostitution altogether.