The Global View of Prostitution: Does the World Need Reform?

For my final post I would like to touch on the prostitution laws around the world and compare them to those of Canada.

In terms of the G8 countries, Canada’s laws are roughly smack dab in the middle of the scale.

Out of the 9 countries, excluding Canada, that have been polled, 5 of them have laws set in place that make prostitution legal.

Germany                    Status: Legal

-       Prostitution is municipally regulated

-       Cities can restrict to certain areas

-       Penalty for breaking restrictions is fine or jail time

-       In Hamburg, only business done in night clubs at certain hours is legal

-       In Berlin, there are no restrictions on street solicitation

-       Brothels are considered regular business and don’t require special licenses

-       Sex workers are independent contractors and pay taxes

France                       Status: Legal

-       Similar to former Canadian laws

-       Prostitution is legal, but everything surrounding it isn’t

-       Prostitutes must pay taxes

-       Illegal to solicit in public

United States                        Status: Illegal

-       Legal in only the state of Nevada

-       Regulated brothels operate legally

-       Convicted prostitutes of Louisiana are registered as sex offenders

England                     Status: Legal

-       Owning/managing a brothel is illegal

-       Soliciting in public is illegal

-       Facilitating contact with prostitutes is illegal

Wales & Northern Ireland               Status: Illegal

-       Illegal to have sex with a prostitute who has been forced into the sex trade

-       Even if the procurer had no knowledge the prostitute was forced

Netherlands              Status: Legal

-       Brothels are legal

-       The usage of Pimps is legal

-       Prostitutes are protected under labour laws

-       Prostitutes must pay taxes

-       Must be registered with government

Sweden, Norway & Iceland                       Status: Illegal

-       Illegal to buy sex

-       Legal to sell sex

-       Criminality is placed on the customers, not the sex workers

Greece                       Status: Legal

-       Sex workers must be registered

-       Must be over 21

-       Must have health checks completed every 2 weeks

-       Prostitutes are fined if caught working without a proper medical card

-       Main goal of government is to control spread of STI’s

I feel like these laws would benefit sex workers in Canada and should be taken into consideration by our government.

They would greatly help control the negative issues of prostitution such as

-       Forced sex workers

-       Underage sex workers

-       Diseases spread throughout the sex workers community

 

The article that provided the statistics:
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/26/prostitution-laws-around-the-world-canada-in-about-the-middle-of-g8-countries/

Is Making Prostitution Legal Hurting our Society?

There are two issues that have been raised in light of the recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal; constitutional, and economical.

The constitution states that everyone has the right to ‘life, liberty and security of the person’ which in turn means that even prostitutes, forced or willing, have the right to be safe during their work, as well as free to leave this line of work as they please.

This constitutional right means that anyone entering the prostitution line of work should be doing so willingly and not forced. They should also be allowed to leave the business of prostitution if ever they so desire.

In today’s society unfortunately this isn’t always the case. Many people are forced into the sex working industry and are not allowed to leave on their own free will. This issue is the major issue that many anti-prostitution organizations use to back their beliefs and protests.

The economic issue is that the government believes that by making more aspects of the prostitution industry legal, they are making it safer for prostitutes on our streets. However what people are arguing is that opening up the business of prostitution will make it ‘okay’ for people to consider prostitution as a career and will in turn promote the acts of prostitution to society.

I believe that both arguments have merit. Prostitution being legalized will help to keep the prostitutes safe and potentially off the streets more and more by being able to take their business into brothels. However the publication of prostitution as legal will undoubtedly interest those who are not a part of the sex trade, and could potentially increase the number of prostitutes on our streets.

I have read several articles on both sides of the debate, and personally I believe that the legalization of prostitution on the whole is not a bad thing for society.

What do you think?

Article inspiration:
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/03/26/father-raymond-j-de-souza-if-prostitution-is-a-tragedy-why-make-it-easier/

The New Approach Towards Canada’s Prostitution Laws

In my last post I talked a little bit about the current laws on prostitution in Canada. Today I am going to talk more about the new revisions to those original laws.

In Canada paying cash for sex is perfectly legal. However it is the other acts that come from the buying of sex that make prostitution become illegal.

The solicitation and organization and use of brothels were once illegal in Canada though recently the Ontario Court of Appeal changed these laws. Before these laws were changed they ensured that every prostitute would in turn be living illegally even if they were engaging in legal forms of prostitution.

The Ontario Court of Appeal read and reviewed the former laws on Canadian prostitution and agreed that they in turn made prostitutes “vulnerable to brutalization, rape and outright murder” the entire time they were engaging in any activities of the sex trade. (Kay, 2012)

The Ontario Court of Appeal also thought that the former laws on prostitution in Canada hindered the ability for prostitutes to be able to keep themselves safe and secure on a daily basis.

The organization and ownership of brothels in Canada has recently been made legal.

The ability to live on the avails of prostitution has also been made legal, but only for ‘non-exploitative’ commercial relationships.

Currently the laws regarding the solicitation of prostitutes has yet to be re-written, although Parliament is open to revising this law as well as others.

Personally I believe that these new laws are a great improvement upon the original laws. These new laws will provide prostitutes with the ability to live their lives with a better sense of safety and protection from the people and elements that wish to harm them.

My next post will go into further detail on the opposing sides of the ‘legalizing prostitution’ debate.

 

The article used:Kay, J. (2012, March 26). A worthy, measured blow for prostitution-law reform. National Post. Retrieved from http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/03/26/jonathan-kay-a-worthy-measured-blow-for-prostitution-law-reform/

The picture source is:http://sowhatdoyouthink.com/