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Prostitution in Canada

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In Canada, prostitution itself (exchanging sex for money) is not illegal, but most activities surrounding it (such as operating a brothel, being found in a brothel, procuring or soliciting in a public place) are illegal, making it difficult to engage in prostitution without breaking any law.

Although Canada is a federation, the criminal law applies throughout the country, the laws are the same all over Canada.

Soliciting in a public place is illegal (automobiles are considered public space if they can be seen). Running, owning or occupying a brothel is also illegal.

Private communication (telephone, e-mail etc) for the purpose of prostitution is legal.

The exact number of Canadian prostitutes is not known. A survey from 2000 showed that 7% of Canadian men have paid for sex at least once in their life,[1] compared to 18% of American men in 1994[2] and 15% of American men in 2004.[3] (Men might underreport such behaviours in surveys.)

The following activities are unlawful (the law applies throughout Canada):

  • owning, running, occupying or transporting anyone to a bawdy house (ss. 210 [6] and 211 [7]); a "bawdy house" means a brothel and is defined as "a place that is kept or occupied, or resorted to by one or more persons, for the purpose of prostitution or to practice acts of indecency" [4]
  • procuring or living on the avails of prostitution (s. 212 [8]),
  • paying for sex from anyone under the age of 18,
  • public communication for the purposes of prostitution (s. 213 [5]); a public place is defined as "any place to which the public have access as of right or by invitation..... and any motor vehicle located in a place.... open to public view"
  • bringing someone to Canada to work as a prostitute,
  • bringing someone from Canada to work as a prostitute outside Canada.

From the Canadian Criminal Code:

210. (1) Every one who keeps a common bawdy-house is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years. Landlord, inmate, etc. (2) Every one who (a) is an inmate of a common bawdy-house, (b) is found, without lawful excuse, in a common bawdy-house, or (c) as owner, landlord, lessor, tenant, occupier, agent or otherwise having charge or control of any place, knowingly permits the place or any part thereof to be let or used for the purposes of a common bawdy-house, is guilty of an offence punishable on summary [5]

213. (1) Every person who in a public place or in any place open to public view (a) stops or attempts to stop any motor vehicle, (b) impedes the free flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic or ingress to or egress from premises adjacent to that place, or (c) stops or attempts to stop any person or in any manner communicates or attempts to communicate with any person for the purpose of engaging in prostitution or of obtaining the sexual services of a prostitute is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Definition of “public place” (2) In this section, "public place" includes any place to which the public have access as of right or by invitation, express or implied, and any motor vehicle located in a public place or in any place open to public view. [6]

Prior to 1972 only women could be charged with working as a prostitute.

Prostitution in practice

Practicing prostitution without breaking any law is difficult in Canada.

Soliciting in a public place is illegal, enclosed places open to the public (eg. bars, clubs, massage parlors etc) are also considered public places.

A "bawdy house" (brothel) is definied as "a place that is kept or occupied, or resorted to by one or more persons, for the purpose of prostitution or to practice acts of indecency".

Illegal prostitution however, does happen. Street prostitution is often connected to other illegal activities such as drug abuse, pimping and criminal gangs. While authorities may "close their eyes" to escort or dating servicies which are fronts for prostitution, street prostitution is considered a serious problem.

Prostitution also happens in "massage parlors", "holistic centers", "saunas" and other similar establishments.

Prostitution is much more common in big cities than in small towns or rural places.

One city associated with prostitution is Vancouver. The authorities here have been more tolerant of prostitution (leading many to believe that some forms of prostitution are legal in the city, which is not true; the Canadian law applies all over Canada). Many "body rub parlours" are fronts for prostitution (however prostitution inside those places is illegal, under Canadian law such establishments are considered public places, and soliciting in a public place is illegal). Vancouver's milder climate also favours street prostitution. Vancouver has a serious problem with prostitution, a study estimated that 26% of Vancouver's female sex workers are infected with HIV, and Vancouver's overall prevalence of HIV is about 1.21%, six times higher than the national rate [7]. Dr. Patricia Daly, chief medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health, has said "Our message has always been that you should assume sex trade workers are HIV positive".[8]. The remark was seen by some as offensive. Many are worried that there will be an increase of prostitution and trafficking during the 2010 Winter Olympics. A group of prostitutes from Vancouver tried to change the Canadian laws (so they could be allowed to work in brothels) but their claim was rejected by a judge from British Columbia. [9]

Politics

Recently, various government committees and task forces have called for even tougher laws as well as more vigorous enforcement of the current legislation.

Legalizing prostitution appears very unlikely. Such a move would be met with strong opposition from some feminists and women's organizations. Some feminists are opposed to prostitution, which they consider to be a form of exploitation of women and of male dominance (see feminist objections to prostitution). Feminists point out that in Sweden, Norway [10] and Iceland [11] (three very liberal and secular countries) it is illegal to pay for sex (the client commits a crime, but not the prostitute) and argue that countries with a high commitment to gender equality don't tolerate prostitution. Other feminists disagree and point to evidence that criminalisation does not decrease the amount of prostitution but simply makes it more dangerous for the women involved[12].

The current government supports the prohibition of prostitution: "In terms of legalization of prostitution I can just tell you that obviously that's something that this government doesn't favour", said Stephen Harper in 2007. [13]

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said: "We are not in the business of legalizing brothels, and we have no intention of changing any of the laws relating to prostitution in this country.” [14]

Opinion polls have shown that most Canadians disapprove of prostitution: 68% of Canadians consider prostitution to be "immoral" (76% of women and 59% of men). [15]

Human trafficking and crime

File:Untitledg.JPG
A human trafficking awareness poster from the Canadian Department of Justice.

As with other countries, human trafficking is considered a major problem in Canada. In 2004, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) estimated that 600-800 persons are trafficked into Canada annually and that an additional 1,500-2,200 persons are trafficked through Canada into the United States. [16] In Canada, foreign trafficking for prostitution is estimated to be worth $400 million annually. [17]

Internationally, the most common destinations for victims of human trafficking are Thailand, Japan, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the US, according to a report by the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime). [18]

The major sources of trafficked persons include Thailand, China, Nigeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. [19]

Many people and organizations believe that keeping prostitution illegal is the best way to prevent human trafficking, forced prostitution, child prostitution and similar abusive activities. They argue that a system which allows legalized and regulated prostitution has very negative effects and does not improve the situation of the prostitutes; such legal systems only lead to crime and abuse: many women who work in licensed brothels are still controlled by outside pimps; many brothel owners are criminals themselves; the creation of a legal and regulated prostitution industry only leads to another parallel illegal industry, as many women do not want to register and work legally (since this would rob them of their anonymity) and other women can not be hired by legal brothels because of underlying problems (eg. drug abuse); legalizing prostitution makes it more socially acceptable to buy sex, creating a huge demand for prostitutes (both by local men and by foreigners engaging in sex tourism) and, as a result, human trafficking and underage prostitution increase in order to satisfy this demand. [20] [21] [22] [23]

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ [3]
  4. ^ [4]
  5. ^ [5]
  6. ^ [6]
  7. ^ >[7]
  8. ^ [8]]
  9. ^ [9]
  10. ^ [10]
  11. ^ Fréttir / A new law makes purchase of sex illegal in Iceland 21.4.2009 Jafnréttisstofa
  12. ^ [11]
  13. ^ [12]
  14. ^ [13]
  15. ^ [14]
  16. ^ [15]
  17. ^ [16]
  18. ^ [17]
  19. ^ [18]
  20. ^ [19]
  21. ^ [20]
  22. ^ [21]
  23. ^ [22]



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