Will a new government finally decriminalize sex work? Here's why this election is so important for sex workers' rights elxn43
When Justin Trudeau’s Liberals were elected to a majority government four years ago, sex workers and sex workers’ advocates hoped change was coming. The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act , enacted by the Conservatives in 2014, was heavily criticized by advocates and workers for criminalizing sex industry agents.
The criminalization of sex work in Canada Sex work is an industry that intersects across populations, says Jenny Duffy, the executive vice chair of the board of directors at Maggie’s Toronto Sex Workers Action Project, an advocacy organization run for and by local sex workers. “With the rise of tuition rates and the lack of social support, it’s an industry that more and more people are turning to,” Duffy says.
“The first option was to simply remove the sections that had been found to be unconstitutional from the Criminal Code, which would have left sex work largely decriminalized in Canada, a solution similar to that adopted by the government when Canada’s abortion laws were struck down in the 1980s. The second option was to introduce new criminal laws that comply with the Charter. Sex workers, public health experts, human rights groups, and allied organizations argued for the first approach.
Why hasn’t decriminalization happened yet? According to the Toronto Star, a study done in 2018 found that among sex workers in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, a majority felt there had been no improvement in their working conditions since PCEPA came into force—and over a quarter found there were negative changes.
Liberal party spokesperson Eleanore Catenaro told FLARE that the “party remains committed to ensuring that all of our criminal laws are effective in meeting their objectives, promote public safety and security, and are consistent with our constitutionally protected rights. A re-elected Liberal government will continue to work to ensure that our criminal justice system respects victims, and holds offenders to account.
Where do the other parties stand on the issue? FLARE spoke to Green Party leader Elizabeth May on October 17, while she was campaigning on Vancouver Island.
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