CANADIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REQUESTS PROSTITUTION LAW REFORM CONSULTATION

CLICK HERE for the Consultation Questions

CLICK HERE to find and contact your local MP (Member of Parliament)

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) is urging Canadian Christians to accept the Government of Canada's invitation to participate in an online "Public Consultation on Prostitution-Related Offences in Canada" to give input into the reform of Canada's prostitution laws.

"The EFC often encourages Christians to contact their MPs to express their views on important issues of justice and compassion in Canada," says Bruce J. Clemenger, president of the EFC. "But rarely are we sent an invitation from the government to offer direct input on an issue as crucial as helping women and youth trapped in prostitution in Canada."

"The online consultation form is straightforward with six important questions," notes Clemenger. The EFC has compiled resources, including our own response to the consultation questions, for Canadian Christians to use as a resource when formulating their responses. The EFC's rationale and recommendations for prostitution law reform in Canada can be found in the EFC resource page, with detailed analysis and recommendations in our report Out of Business: Prostitution in Canada - Putting an End to Demand and in a collection of articles from Faith Today, the national magazine published by the EFC.

"There are three primary groups of people engaging in the process of prostitution law reform," says Clemenger. "There is a vocal group of people who support legal unencumbered prostitution. There is a group who endorse a concept called "prohibition," who would like to see the purchase, sale and all activities surrounding prostitution as criminal acts. And, there is the third group - into which the EFC falls - called abolitionists."

The abolitionist group proposes implementing a form of law that criminalizes the purchase of sex (those with the money exert the power), the management of the sex industry (those making big money exert big, often abusive power) and not criminalizing those who are being sold, as they are most often vulnerable and there without choice.

"The EFC invites Christians to accept this unique opportunity to contribute to the development of legislation that will have a profound impact on some of our nation's most vulnerable individuals, and help shape Canadian society's understanding of the dignity and value of Canadian women and girls for generations to come, " says Clemenger. (Source)

The public consultation closes on Monday, March 17, 2014. The online form containing six questions can be found at the Federal Government's consultation website.

SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO THE SIX QUESTIONS IN THE GOVERNMENT’S SURVEY

These are suggested answers from the Evangelical Fellowship Of Canada you may want to consider when answering the Online Questionnaire. The answers are in line with Catholic Teaching on this issue. These answers and the link to the Consultation Questions are available online to be cut and pasted on the Parish Website www.stjw.ca.

1. Do you think that purchasing sexual services from an adult should be a criminal offence? Should there be any exceptions? Please explain.

The purchase or attempted purchase of sex, including by a third party, should be a criminal offence, without exceptions.

a. The vast majority of women in prostitution are not there by choice, and would get out if they felt they had a viable alternative or opportunity. Where “choice” has been made, it is most often a constrained choice, made in the absence of other opportunities for survival or livelihood.

b. Prostitution is primarily a form of male violence and sexual exploitation against women. It is a violation of human rights. It is expressed in acts against individual women and in systemic ways, affecting primarily women and children.

c. The demand for paid sex is the direct cause of commercial sexual exploitation of women and children, and fuels the trafficking of women and children both within and across our borders.

d. Prostitution is a practice that arises from the historical subordination of women, and is fundamentally contrary to equality between the sexes.

e. Prostitution necessitates that a group of women be available for purchase by men, which is a deterrent to all women’s equality.

2. Do you think that selling sexual services by an adult should be a criminal offence? Should there be any exceptions? Please explain.

Any new laws should reflect the current non-criminal nature of those who are being prostituted.

It is not currently illegal to sell sex in Canada, but historically it has been the prostituted who have borne the weight of Canadian criminal laws related to prostitution.

Criminalizing vulnerable individuals in prostitution creates significant barriers to their exit from prostitution and their ability to make the choice to do something else. It also perpetuates the inequality and marginalization that in the vast majority of cases got them into prostitution in the first place.

As such, it should not become a criminal offence to sell sexual services.

3. If you support allowing the sale or purchase of sexual services, what limitations should there be, if any, on where or how this can be conducted? Please explain.

The objective of a model of asymmetrical decriminalization, in which the purchase of sex is criminalized but not the sale or the seller, is to ultimately seek an end to prostitution and sexual exploitation.

Experience with different models of law and public policy in different countries suggests that the most effective means of doing this is to fully criminalize the purchase of sexual services without criminalizing those who are being sold.

The purchase of sex should be criminalized, with no exceptions; and the sale should remain non-criminal, with no exceptions.

4. Do you think that it should be a criminal offence for a person to benefit economically from the prostitution of an adult? Should there be any exceptions? Please explain.

It should be a criminal offence, with no exception, to benefit from the sale of another human being. No person should be seen as a commodity to be bought or sold for another person's gratification. This is a violation of the fundamental dignity of each person.

5. Are there any other comments you wish to offer to inform the Government's response to the Bedford decision?

It is hoped that the Government will pursue a Canadian adaptation of a Nordic-style model of law and policy on prostitution. In summary, this model would:

a. Criminalize the purchase and attempted purchase of sex.

b. Maintain the current non-criminal nature of those who are being sold.

c. Maintain prohibitions against profiting from the sexual exploitation of another person.

In addition to legislative changes, a comprehensive and effective approach to significantly reducing prostitution and sexual exploitation would include the following:

a. Initiate a broad public awareness campaign to accompany a change in the law, so that Canadians understand that, in Canada, the purchase of sexual services is not just illegal, it is unacceptable; it is violence against women and contrary to equality between the sexes.

b. Signal a clear commitment to working with the provinces, territories and a range of other stakeholders in the development of a comprehensive national plan to both prevent vulnerable individuals from entering prostitution and to offer significant supports to those who are in as they exit.

6. Are you writing on behalf of an organization? If so, please identify the organization and your title or role:

You are not obligated to use the name of the EFC in this section as we assume you are responding to the survey as an individual or as a representative of your own organization or faith community. It’s up to you.

Source:

Prostitution Law Reform Consultation

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