A wide array of positions on Canadian prostitution laws are being presented in June before the Ontario Court of Appeal, in the case between Terri Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch, Valerie Scott (Respondents in Appeal) and the Attorney General of Canada (Appellant in Appeal). The court will hear from seven interveners, representing 19 groups arguing for and against the laws.
Among the intervenors is The Women’s Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution. They will argue to uphold the laws that forbid men from buying, selling and profiting from women bodies, and to strike down laws that criminalize women who are involved in the sex trade. The Coalition rejects both the appellants’ position of maintaining the status quo and the respondents’ position of striking down all three provisions in their entirety.
Read their press release Women’s Groups Coalition: The Charter Does Not Guarantee Men a Right to the Prostitution of Women.
The Native Youth Sexual Health Network said last week on their Facebook page: “While the criminalization of the sex trade is indeed harmful to us and we consistently resist the regulations forced onto us by a colonial white law and order system, we want to move beyond just discussing criminalization and decriminalization. There are many other factors that contribute to the realities of our lives specifically as Indigenous peoples that are being largely ignored because of these kinds of debates constantly happening.” Read their statement.
