Major victory for sex workers in Canada 
On September 28th, the Ontario Superior Court handed down a landmark decision strikingdown three sections of the Criminal Code that criminalize adult prostitution – this was avery important day for the sex workers’ rights movement in Canada. Although exchangingsex for money is legal in Canada, many of the activities associated with it, includingkeeping a “bawdy house”, communicating for the purposes of prostitution, and living onthe avails of the trade, are not legal. This was a crucial decision since these criminal lawshave made sex work much more dangerous and have had an incredibly harmful impact onsex workers’ lives.Two weeks after the Ontario decision, the BC Court of Appeal ruled that a similar challengebrought forward by former sex worker Sheryl Kiselbach and the DTES Sex Workers UnitedAgainst Violence (SWUAV), an organization run by and for street-based sex workers, couldproceed. I am ecstatic that the case will finally be heard. When I started working on thiscase, I never thought that three years would pass before this matter would proceed totrial.One really important aspect of the fight for sex workers’ rights in BC relates to access tojustice. The court recognized that both Sheryl and SWUAV are important voices on thisissue and that active sex workers face significant barriers when attempting to accessthe court process. They face not only criminalization but also very serious violence,vulnerability, and exploitation as a result of the criminal laws that have been enforced forso long. It was really important that the Courts open their doors to these plaintiffs in thiscase so their voices can finally be heard.Another important result of the BC Court of Appeal decision is that it could widenaccess to justice for all marginalized people. Bringing forward a legal challenge can beintimidating for marginalized groups, such as people living in extreme poverty. The abilityof an organization to bring forward issues affecting their members opens up an importantavenue for ensuring these types of cases are heard. I am very encouraged by both of theserecent decisions and look forward to continuing to represent Sheryl and SWUAV, who areincredibly courageous members of the sex workers’ rights movement.