|
 Beyond
Decriminal-ization: Sex-work, Human Rights
and a New Framework for Law Reform
Published June 2006 by Pivot Legal Society's
sex-work subcommittee.
EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT:
Executive Summary
Sex workers are entitled to the same human rights
standards that are afforded to other members of Canadian society.
However, as a result of the current criminal
laws relating to adult prostitution, sex workers are forced
to live and work in conditions where they experience systemic
discrimination, exploitation and violence, and where their
constitutional rights are infringed.
Pivot’s 2004 report, Voices for Dignity:
A Call to End the Harms Caused by Canada’s Sex Trade
Laws, argued that sex workers’ right to expression,
life, liberty, security of the person, and equality, as enshrined
in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, are
routinely violated.
Significant improvements to the working and
living conditions of sex workers are not possible without
the repeal of sections 210, 211, 212(1), 212(3) and 213 of
the Criminal Code of Canada.
In anticipation that Canada will one day recognize
and carry out this important legislative reform, this report
moves beyond the issue of criminal law reform to examine areas
of law that become relevant and applicable in a decriminalized
context.
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|
| "Pivot
has argued that criminal law reform is the first step
towards a shift from the status quo, where sex workers
are subject to extreme levels of violence and social marginalization,
to a society where sex workers are empowered to create
safe and dignified working conditions." |
The analyses and findings set out in Beyond
Decriminalization are intended to encourage Canadians
to consider how reform of other areas of law and policy can
be used to end the violence, discrimination and other human
rights violations faced by sex workers.
One example of an area of legislation that will
be highly relevant if sex work is decriminalized is employment
and labour law.
This report examines how employment and labour
standards can be used to provide rights and protections for
workers in the sex industry.
In addition to this key topic, this report considers
other relevant areas of law, including: occupational health
and safety, municipal, tax, immigration, human rights, family,
company, and social welfare law.
The findings and analyses presented are grounded
in the expert opinions and experiences of sex workers from
various areas of the sex industry. Through individual and
group discussions with workers and business owners from escort
agencies, massage parlours, sole proprietorships and at the
street level, this report provides a comprehensive analysis
of the ways in which many areas of law can be used to improve
the safety and protect the rights of sex workers.
Continued...
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