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Report demands legal protections for sex workers
VANCOUVER June 13.
Pivot Legal Society has released its second report
on sex work and law reform. Beyond Decriminalization: Sex Work,
Human Rights and a New Framework for Law Reform, funded by
the Law Foundation of British Columbia, the Law Commission of Canada
and the Canadian Bar Association, the report presents the results
of two years of research and in-depth discussions with 84 sex workers
from various aspects of the sex industry in Vancouver, Calgary and
Edmonton.
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Beyond Decriminalization: Sex work, Human Rights and a New
Framework for Law Reform was produced after two years
of research with sex workers from across the industry.
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Pivot's 2004 report, Voices for Dignity: A Call
to End the Harms Caused by Canada's Sex Trade Laws, called
for the complete decriminalization of adult prostitution in order
to reduce harm to sex workers and protect their human rights. That
report showed how current prostitution laws marginalize sex workers
and produce high levels of violence, exploitation and discrimination.
Pivot's new report moves beyond the question of criminal
law reform. It examines the regulatory and legislative reforms that
would be required to protect sex workers in the event that the adult
sex industry is decriminalized. The report highlights nine areas
of law, including municipal, employment, labour, social welfare,
tax, company, human rights, immigration, and family, and asks whether
or not the existing legislation in these areas will meet the needs
and concerns of sex workers.
"The bottom line is that sex workers want access
to the same legal and human rights protections that are afforded
to other Canadians, such as legal protection from sexual harassment,
the right to income assistance or workers compensation or the right
to form a union," says Katrina Pacey, lawyer and co-author
of the report. "Decriminalization is only the first step to
making this possible. Legal and regulatory reform is imperative
for sex workers to take their place as full members of society."
Susan Davis, media spokesperson for PACE Society,
a non profit organization which offers outreach, counselling, education,
and advocacy for sex workers, adds, "Decriminalization will
make the industry safer for everyone. Whether it’s a survival
sex worker who wants to work indoors or be able to report a bad
date, or a massage parlour worker who wants health and safety standards
in her workplace, everyone will benefit from law reform."
Pivot's report is particularly timely given that the
Parliamentary Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws was re-struck last
week. The Subcommittee is mandated to consider reforming the criminal
laws relating to prostitution. Pivot will be holding a public
forum with a panel of authors, experts, and sex workers to present
the report and answer questions. The event is open to the public
and will be held at Harbour Centre, Fletcher Challenge Room 1900,
7:00 – 9:30 pm on June 13th, 2006.
Pivot's mandate is to take a strategic approach
to social change, using the law to address the root causes that
undermine the quality of life of those most on the margins. We believe
that everyone, regardless of income, benefits from a healthy and
inclusive community where values such opportunity, respect and equality
are strongly rooted in the law. http://www.pivotlegal.org
For further information, please contact: Katrina
Pacey on 604-729-7849.
[More about
Beyond Decriminalization]
[more about Sex Work and Pivot]
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full report (PDF 1,209 KB)
]
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abridged version (PDF2,401 KB)
]
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