globalgirl network

By Krista Bones


My life journey has often intersected with women in prostitution as well as with issues pertaining to the trafficking of women. However, it wasn’t until advocates in Canada started pushing for legalized brothels that I began to recognize the strong link between the two.


I knew that other countries had tried decriminalizing brothels so I began to explore what effects these countries had experienced as a result of this legislation. What I found in my research confirmed my suspicions: brothels (legal and illegal) are ideal locations into which women could be trafficked. Furthermore, countries that legalized or decriminalized prostitution in varying measures experienced growth in their sex industries. This normalization of prostitution led to an increased demand for bodies to be rented for sex. As there are typically inadequate numbers of women interested in this type of “work” in first world countries, the trafficking of women increases in flourishing sex markets.


Here are a few examples:

- In Sydney, Australia, brothels were decriminalized in 1995. By 1999 the number of brothels in the city had increased exponentially to 4,500. Victoria, Australia, experienced a 300% growth of illegal brothels in one year once prostitution was legalized.[1] It is estimated that those trafficking women and children into Australian brothels have made approximately $A1 million dollars per week.[2]


- Germany has been rated “very high” by the UN as a destination for trafficking. Germany achieved the most lucrative prostitution economy in Europe after legalizing prostitution in 2002, reaching 7.5 billion in one year.


- Although prostitution has long been legal in the Netherlands, after pimping was legalized, and brothels decriminalized in the year 2000, the Dutch sex industry increased by 25%.[3] Labeled a primary destination for trafficking, 96% of Dutch prostituted women work illegally, 80-85% of prostituted women in the Netherlands are non-Dutch and 70-75% of them have no papers. Estimates of women trafficked into the Netherlands vary, but according to the National Rapporteur, estimates have reached as high as 7,000 per year.


- Contrarily, after 30 years of legalized prostitution, Sweden reversed its legislation. In 1999, Sweden criminalized the buying of sex on the grounds that it is violence against women. For Sweden, this has “resulted in significant reduction in trafficking of women and children from abroad.”[4]


Yet despite significant correlations between decriminalized sex markets and increased trafficking, Canada has been making moves towards decriminalized brothels.


In early 2007, a Parliamentary Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws released a report entitled “THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE: A STUDY OF CANADA’S CRIMINAL PROSTITUTION LAWS”. This multi-party committee had difficulty arriving at a consensus. Representatives from three of the four political parties felt that repealing all of Canada’s prostitution laws were a reasonable option, while Conservative Party members were the only members of the committee not in favour of repealing the laws.


Meanwhile, two Constitutional challenges have been placed on Canada’s prostitution laws; one headed by Alan Young from Osgoode Hall in Toronto and one aided by PIVOT legal society in Vancouver. If the Supreme Court deems that Canada’s prostitution laws are indeed unconstitutional, parliament will be required to re-write or repeal Canada’s legislation in regards to prostitution.


In June 2007, Vancouver’s Living In Community issued a report that called for the implementation of a legal brothel. In Vancouver, there is a safe injection site called Insite, where drug users can legally inject drugs in the interest of harm reduction. The proposed brothel is seeking legal exemptions such as the ones under which Insite operates. There has been massive media attention on the proposed legal brothel and a degree of support from law enforcement and various levels of government.


On the surface, decriminalized brothels can seem like a safer alternative to street prostitution. However, the experience of other countries has shown us that decriminalized brothels don’t make women safer overall. Not only has this legislation increased child prostitution and human trafficking, it has often increased the numbers of women involved in street prostitution, and at times created more dangerous working environments for them.


Canada stands poised, ready to expand its sex industry by decriminalizing brothels. If this happens, Canada will become an increased destination for victims of trafficking. As Donna Hughes says, “The only reason human trafficking exists is because of the existence of prostitution.”


If we want to fight against the global trade of women and children, we will need to keep a close eye on what Canada is doing about prostitution in our own backyard.


Taking Action:
Are you concerned about the direction Canada is headed in regards to brothels? Let your MP know where you stand! At http://CanadaCan.blogspot.com you can find a printable postcard to send in to your representative, and a link to find your MP’s address. The same website also contains lots of resources, quotes and recommended reading. Informing ourselves, and those around us, is a great way to dispel the myth that brothels will make Canada safer for women.


Footnotes:
1. Melissa Farley, “Bad for the Body, Bad for the Heart”: Prostitution Harms Women Even if Legalized or Decriminalized,” Violence Against Women, Vol. 10 No.10, October 2004: 14.
2. Mary Sullivan, What happens when prostitution becomes work? An Update on Legislation of Prostitution in Australia (N.Amherst, Massachusetts: Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, 2005), 11.
3. Janice G. Raymond , “The Consequences of Legal Policy on Prostitution and Trafficking in Women,” Speech in Budapest, Hungary, May 28, 2004
4. “NOKS Statement on Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation,” The Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights, April 28, 2006, Nordic and Baltic Women’s Organizations in Cooperation, March 6, 2008, <http://kvinnesak.cl.no/engelsk.htm>



About Krista:
Krista Bones is a member of REED (Resist Exploitation Embrace Dignity) and resides in Vancouver BC with her husband and two small children. In the spare time afforded her by her maternal commitments, she is a researcher and writer, with a particular interest in justice and prostitution-related issues.