Group advocating for asymmetrical criminalization to protect women in sex trade

By Alison Roach
Photos by Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter

Last Tuesday, in a press conference regarding the Supreme Court case to legalize the sex trade in Canada, Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter and EVE (formerly Exploited Voices now Educating) openly called for the decriminalization of prostitution for the women involved.

A coalition of women’s groups under the name of The Women’s Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution is preparing to argue a case against legalization of sex trade in front of the Supreme Court of Canada. The coalition was given intervener status last month in the charter challenge of Canada’s prostitution laws, and the case will be heard by the Supreme Court next month.

The Women’s Coalition argues that the laws that criminalize women involved in prostitution should be abolished, but “laws that prevent men from buying, selling, and profiting from prostituted women are important protections that must be retained.” Under the current laws against prostitution in Canada, 362 girls were charged in 2008. In the same year, six men were charged, leading to only two convictions.

The hearing has arisen after a case in Ontario saw the Ontario Appeal Court rule against the Criminal Code ban on bawdy houses, based on the logic that the ban increases the dangers prostitutes face when they are forced to work on the streets. However, the Women’s Coalition hopes to challenge the idea of sex as work, and sees it rather as violence against women.

Trisha Baptie, who was prostituted from the age of 13 to 28, is founder of the group EVE and spoke at the press conference on the Women’s Coalition position of prostitution as abuse. “The violence women suffer from prostitution will not go away if we remove the laws surrounding prostitution,” Baptie stated and continued, “In fact, violence will increase as the men who perpetrate the violence will face no legal barriers to their abusive behaviour . . . We need the laws to stand up to this abusive behaviour, and not excuse it.”

Janine Benedet, a lawyer and law professor, is acting as council for the Women’s Coalition and spoke about the argument the Women’s Coalition will be presenting next month, something she called a “third way,” in between criminalization and complete legalization.

The model is one of asymmetrical criminalization, which does not penalize the women in prostitution, but comes down harshly on the johns and pimps involved. The system is currently in place in Norway, Sweden, and Iceland, and is known as the Nordic model.

Benedet referred to the model as “very effective,” seeing a decrease in the amount of street prostitution and making those countries unattractive destinations for pimps and sex traffickers. Benedet said she feels hopeful about the case, and pointed to the extreme differences in the two groups involved in prostitution as the reasoning behind the asymmetrical laws.

Benedet contrasted the asymmetrical criminalization model to the complete abolition in Netherlands and Germany, where she described the legalized industry as a “smokescreen” for the illegal activities still underway.

Some have spoken out against the use of Nordic model, including SFU criminology professor John Lowman, who said enforcing the Nordic system in Canada would essentially amount to “institutionalized entrapment,” according to 24 Hours.

“The Nordic model helps women as long as they want to get out of prostitution,” he said. “But if they don’t want to get out of prostitution, it essentially sacrifices them to a form of a radical feminist ideology.”

Beyond legalization of prostitution for sex workers, the speakers at the press conference mentioned the need for more support for women attempting to exit the sex trade. Summer Rain Bentham, a front-line worker at Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter, spoke about the need for adequate day care, education opportunities, transition housing, detox beds, and treatment programs for these women.

There are currently no funded programs for helping women exit prostitution in Vancouver. “We need all [of these things],” said Bentham, “Not just one will fix the issue.”