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.”

Here’s what the university’s highest governing body talked about this month

By Alison Roach

Food Services

The board talked about recent improvements to dining services, noting that the renovations to Chartwells and its meal plan have been earning great reviews from students. The Dining Hall is now opened for meal plan holders for the first time ever during a summer semester, and expects another 30 per cent increase in meal plan sales this fall.

Board Chair Brian Taylor also spoke about SFU’s dealings for a Starbucks at the Burnaby campus, specifically the push that SFU has been giving the corporate giant to offer more Fair Trade coffee throughout Canada. The university sent a delegation down to Seattle this month to discuss this, and Taylor commented that the university may “be able to bring the big giant to its knees.”

Bookstore

The VP Finance report showed that the newly opened Spirit Shop inside the Burnaby SFU Bookstore has already seen increased sales of 43 per cent compared to sales this same time last year. The Bookstore has also decided to drop the retail price of used textbooks by 15 per cent to encourage students to buy used textbooks. It was also noted that the Harbour Centre bookstore location continues to face difficulties in traffic due to the summer renovations in the mall, and solutions are trying to be found.

Building

The SFU Observatory project is moving forward with a consultant selection in the works, and the location set to be just south of Strand Hall on the Burnaby campus, between the AQ and Cornerstone. SFU Burnaby is also working on a plan to develop an art gallery and intercultural centre, to be funded from private donations. In SFU Surrey, the university, TransLink, and the city are in talks to develop a plan for a new bus exchange to replace the current one, which is located on SFU property.

Academic Programming

The Academic Operations Committee has approved a few program changes, including two creations and one dissolution. The committee approved full program proposals for a graduate certificate in curriculum and instruction in the Faculty of Education and a concurrent Bachelor’s-Master’s program in the School for International Studies. It was also decided to dissolve the joint major and joint honours in computing science and philosophy. These changes will go into effect in the fall semester.

International Engagement

The external relations committee rolled out a new international engagement strategy for 2013-2016 that focuses on deepening SFU’s relationships with current partners and growing in areas where the university has begun to develop those relationships.

The areas the strategy focuses on in particular are China, India, Brazil, Chile, Western Europe, and the United States. The board spoke about the importance of diversifying the university’s own programming to ensure that international students don’t become too heavily concentrated in one faculty or department, as has been seen with Chinese international students in the Faculty of Business.

At the beginning of the academic year, over 65 per cent of all international undergrad students and 25 per cent of grad students were from China, a “concentration [that] limits the intercultural diversity of our student population, and presents challenges and opportunities for developing alumni engagements, language programming, intercultural connections, and student support programming,” according to the report.

Notes from the latest SFSS board of directors meeting.

By Alison Roach

Build SFU committees

Members of the new SFSS board were appointed to committees in the Build SFU project, a Build SFU Joint Steering Committee and a Build SFU Building Committee. External relations officer Chardaye Bueckert and treasurer Emad Shahid were voted into the joint steering committee, while Bueckert, president Humza Khan, and business faculty representative Brandon Chapman were named to the building committee.

Fontaine also recommended that the newly formed Build SFU Project Committee be downsized and made to have less board representation with more members of the student community at large to take seats. The project committee will be discussing the large scale communication and consultation process that will be put in motion in the fall.

Studentcare mobile app

SFSS President Humza Khan gave a report on a Studentcare stakeholder conference attended by himself and several other board members recently, where they spoke to the SFSS healthcare provider about issues around privacy, timeliness, and accessibility. Khan announced the release of a mobile app by the healthcare provider that has been developed through the suggestion of SFSS members who attended the conference the previous year.

The app is currently only available for iPhones, and allows students to file claims, check their claim history, get information on their coverage, and receive refunds through direct deposit. The app allows quick processing, with claims going through within five business days. With the current physical mailing system, claims can take from two weeks to a month the process. The app is available for free on iTunes under the name “ihaveaplan mobile.”

Out on Campus budget increased

The Financial and Administrative Services Committee (FASC) of the SFSS recommended to the board to increase the Out on Campus student administrator wages by $5,300, and the EI / CPP / WCB expenses by $450. These increases are to be taken from the unrestricted surplus. The motion was easily approved by almost all board members, with only one abstention.