Sex Work Law Reform Webinar

[pop2021]

Jenn from CASWLR and legal representatives just finished a webinar on their PCEPA challenge to the supreme court. More information: Infosheet-END.pdf

There were questions some of which were around client organizing:

Q:Why are clients not included in this effort? Are you limited in what you can do?
Any organzing efforts around clients?

A:The arguments in our court challenge are about how the laws impact on sex workers - not how they impact on clients and third parties - so it’s important for us to center sex workers’ experiences of the laws. We have the support of clients, however

Q:What will decriminalization of sex work look like in Canada? Are there any frameworks currently in place around the world that Canada should model its legislation around?

Aecriminalization would mean 1) removing criminal laws and immigration laws around sex work - and using laws of general appplication to address violence; 2) applying occupational health and safety framework and employment rights; 3) looking at housing, education, and other issues. You can read our full blueprint for decriminalization here: www.sexworklawreform.com/recommendations. In the meantime, you can also look to New Zealand as a beginning to the kind of model we would want to adapt to a Canadian context - the fault of this model is that migrant sex workers do not currently benefit from it because it is still illegal for them. But NZ gives a basis for something that is more of a public health model than a criminal one.

Q:Thank you for that comprehensive overview Jenn. What are the next steps in the challenge? Is there any sense of when a decision from the superior court is expected?

A:The judge will render his decision anytime within the year of the hearing that happened in October. So we wait….
After that we imagine there will be an appeal of some sort, and we hope to get to the Supreme Court where the laws will hopefully be struck down. We need the PCEPA struck down in its entirety, so we are in this until the end and the highest court.

Q:Should the challenge be successful and PCEPA struck down, will that prevent new legislation that similarly criminalzes sex work from being instated?

A:Hopefully the next government will feel more obligated to be accountable to the decisions made in the court system, but there is no guarantee. We would also hope that the next government would have more of a penchant for empirical evidence, rather than leaning on their opinions and morals, the way the Conservative government did in this case.

Q:So, Jenn is there any organizing around clients? Is it all informal? Who could we contact if we are interested in this?

A:Clients are best positioned to support sex workers in our organizing. Unfortunately the optics of client organizing aare really bad and often misunderstood - anti-sex work or prohibitionists misunderstand client organizing as “clients fighting for the right to buy sex”. Despite this never being the legal or social argument, it is how client organizing is often interpreted. But there are many many ways that clients can support sex workers organizing, and sex workers’ efforts to have the impacts of hte laws on their lives visible. I can take more time to respond if you write to [email protected]

Q:Thank you everyone for the throughful discussion! If time permits, I’m a journalism student and I’m wondering if the panel could touch on any thoughts on what the media gets right and wrong when covering sex work issues in Canada and the current constitutional challenges.

A:Oh yes! Many sex workers have written down tips for journalists we would be happy to share. Write to [email protected] for more info.

Looks like there is nothing that explicitly reflects the interests of clients. However, it makes sense to support this I think because evidence clearly shows that criminalizing any part of the sex work industry causes collateral damage.
Recent paper on what happened after PCEPA: Allen and Rotenberg, 2021

Also there's a book on the New Zealand experience with decriminalization Sex Work and the New Zealand Model
Their legal reforms only passed by one vote but changing the law had a really significant positive effect on interactions between SWs and SPs and LE.

 

[2fast2slow]

have not had the time to read all this yet but quick comment for me is I genuinely worry if the law is struck down, it could be timed with a return to power of Pierre Poilievre's conservatives...

 

[pop2021]

I agree. Its also worrying that over the last 8-9 years clients and third parties are basically ignored. I think the approach is backwards from what it should be: change public attitudes by presenting the realities of our lives and actually work with the government rather than take an adversarial stance.

You'll notice that the press around this is always about how dangerous sex work is. I think this is misguided and one could argue, given that workers have vastly more tools now to ensure that clients are actually clients, its much safer than it has ever been for those who can use them. Being able to advertise for free in some form or other is critically important.

We aren't rethinking our, IMO, toxic sexual culture which not only affects many of us negatively but also could be argued affects things like eating disorders etc.

 

[pop2021]

The New Zealand book is worth having a look at as it wasn't a given that decriminalization was going to go through. Most of the work they did was public speaking engagements, TV and press it wasn't legal challenges.