Hannah van Voorthuysen: Sex Workers Co-ops

Rights providers when Governments fall short?

The recent legal challenge in Ontario against the laws on prostitution drew both local and international attention to the current state of sex worker rights in Canada. The judge, Justice Susan Himel, ruled that three restrictive laws pertaining to the criminalisation of prostitution were unconstitutional and noted that they “individually and together, force prostitutes to choose between their liberty interest and their right to security of the person as protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” The very next day, the Federal Government announced its intention to appeal the case. 

There are several arguments against decriminalisation. Moral concerns have been raised from critics like conservative MP Joy Smith who argued that the Ontario ruling “left women and youth vulnerable to increased sexual exploitation, violence and abuse” that was a dangerous step towards “normalizing the sexual exploitation of women and youth.” In a related argument, some feminists contend that all prostitution is a form of dominance and oppression of women and prostitution is never a free choice. Meanwhile, others argue that decriminalisation would help fuel an influx of migrant sex workers or sex trafficking. 

These arguments fail to recognise both the complex layers of variation in sex work experiences and the ramifications of the current absence of human rights for sex workers in British Columbia.

My paper will attempt to determine whether decriminalisation is a rights provider or a rights remover. The results of two international cases, considered to be counter posing paradigms of sex worker reform, will be examined in light of their ability to  protect workers and support victims. Specifically the case of the 2003 Prostitution Reform Bill in New Zealand and the 1999 Swedish legislation criminalising the purchase of sexual services will be analysed to argue that decriminalisation is a necessary means through which to guarantee the human rights and dignity of sex workers. 

Finally, my individual project will work with local groups in Vancouver to discuss the possibilities, structures, obstacles and benefits of a Sex Worker Co-op to help mitigate against the various threats faced by sex workers. Such a co-op has been proposed in the past but has always come up against significant controversy and barriers. I expect this project will involve some of the same issues applicable to Insite, the safe injection site, which consequently allows for a degree of cooperation between our projects. Working with the assumption that the issue of decriminalisation will become politicised for electioneering expediency, this paper will lay out a case that in the absence of the state providing protection and dignity to its citizens, sex workers have the right to disobey these laws to protect themselves and provide visibility to an otherwise mysterious and mystified industry. 

Bibliography

Allinott, Shari, et al, Voices for Dignity: A Call to End the Harms Caused by Canada’s Sex Trade Laws, Pivot Law Society, 2004

Barnett, Laura, Prostitution in Canada: International Obligations, Federal Law, and Provincial and Municipal Jurisdiction, Parliamentary Information and Research Service, 2008

BC Coalition of Experiential Communities, Opening the Doors: Building Transparency and Accountability in the Sex Industry, 2010

Childs, Mary, et al, Beyond Decriminalization: Sex Work, Human Rights and a New Framework for Law Reform, Pivot Legal Society, 2006

Crago, Anna-Louise, Our Lives Matter: Sex Workers Unite for Health and Rights, Open Society Institute, 2008

Hanger, Art, (Chair), “The Challenge of Change: A Study of Canada’s Criminal Prostitution Laws”, Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, 2006

Legal Decisions

Bedford v. Canada, 2010

Interviews

Katrina Pacey: Pivot Law Society

Susan Davies: Former sex worker and sex worker rights advocate

Dr. Mary Whowell: Sex worker outreach researcher

Outreach 

Prostitution Alternatives Counselling Education (P.A.C.E)

Sex Professionals of Canada (SPOC)

West Coast Cooperative of Sex Industry Professionals

Comments

[Michael Byers]

An excellent start! I like the comparison between Sweden and New Zealand but think you chould consider a third type of case, i.e. Canada, where selling is illegal but buying is not. But because you're trying to draw lessons for Canada, perhaps you need another country for that particular, third case study?

Also, your project topic -- on a sex workers cooperative -- would also benefit from some international comparisons. Indeed, this is where you can probably add the most to the current debate/initiative.

Finally, and coincidentally, there's an op-ed in today's Vancouver Sun entitled "Prostitution and the radical feminist agenda". Perhaps you'd like to draft a reply to the author, perhaps in the form of a letter to the editor?

Keep up the good work!

[Chantelle]

Hey Hannah, great proposal. Sounds similar to the debates that have come up around Insite. E.g. The moral arguments that you've highlighted: the Ontario ruling “left women and youth vulnerable to increased sexual exploitation, violence and abuse” that was a dangerous step towards “normalizing the sexual exploitation of women and youth.”

Are you planning to argue that moral arguments have no place in this debate?

[Forrest]

Hi Hannah,

I thought you might find this interesting, really brings out some of the historical context here in BC.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/tom-hawthorn/victorias-colourful-history-of-sex-for-sale/article1774028/

[JI-EUN KIM]

Hi Hannah, my partner?:)

Just to add a couple points, (although I'm sure you've been already considering), child prostitution has been one of the major challenges against decriminalization - so if you clearly indicate decriminalization position also thinks about child prostitution and it has ideas on protection measures, your argument can be strenghtened, I think.

I'm also curious about what kind of moral arguments you may bring up - as we know by now, it is really difficult to make this kind of arguments because moral issues are always the basis of both justification and criticisms.