Canada’s Supreme Court
Eliminates Prostitution Laws

Nicole Halseth
News Editor

I one of the most important
rulings since the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
was enacted in 1982, and with
significant effects on the future of
the Canadian legal landscape, the
Supreme Court has ‘struck down’
Canada’s major prostitution laws.
These laws prohibited brothels,
communicating with clients in
public, and living off the profits of
prostitution. This follows a court
challenge filed by current and past
sex workers.

According to an article on The
Globe and Mail's website, the
Court claims “the bans on street
soliciting, brothels and people
living off the avails of prostitution
create severe dangers for
vulnerable women and therefore
violate Canadians’ basic values.”

On behalf of a unanimous court,
Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin
wrote that “the ruling is not about
whether prostitution should be

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Nicole Halseth
News Editor
bove and beyond the media
storm surrounding Russia’s
‘gay propaganda ban, and its
various international reactions,
especially in regards to the
upcoming Olympics in Sochi,
developments in international
homosexual rights continue.

According to an article on the BBC
World News Website, “the Indian
government has filed a petition

in the Supreme Court asking it to
review its decision to reinstate a
153-year-old law that criminalizes

legal or not, but about whether
Parliament’s means of controlling it
infringe the constitutional rights of
prostitutes.”

McLachlin also claimed “Parliament
has the power to regulate against
nuisances, but not at the cost

of the health, safety and lives

of prostitutes,” and that “the
prohibitions all heighten the risks.
... They do not merely impose
conditions on how prostitutes
operate. They go a critical step
further, by imposing dangerous
conditions on prostitution; they
prevent people engaged in a risky
- but legal - activity from taking
steps to protect themselves from
the risks.”

The Supreme Court of Canada
suspended the ruling for one

year, in order to allow Parliament
time to respond. As such, Justice
Minister Peter MacKay will have

to decide whether or not to adopt
new prohibitions, and if so, how to
ensure any new prohibitions will
be in accordance with the Supreme

homosexuality.”

This review has been based on the
premise that the reinstatement of
this old, colonial law violates “the
principle of equality.” It follows
significant backlash, in the form

of protest and criticism from
numerous levels of Indian society,
as the ruling to reinstate the law
was considered a “huge blow to gay
rights.”

On 11 December 2013, the Supreme
Court of India reinstated a law

to criminalize homosexuality,
overturning a 2009 ruling to

—

(challenge that,pro

ae

Court. In a statement, MacKay
claimed that the government will
look at pursuing new prohibitions.
Should this be the case, any new
laws would have to seriously
address the safety of those engaged
in sex work.

In defence of their ruling, the
Supreme Court cited the role

of the state in making many

sex workers more vulnerable to
violence. The court also explicitly
outlined how each of the three
previous prostitution laws caused
harm to individuals. According to
The Globe and Mail: “The ban on
brothels prevents prostitutes from
working in safer indoor locations,
and is ‘grossly disproportionate
to the deterrence of community

disruption;’ The law against living
off the avails of prostitution is
intended for pimps, but also bans
‘legitimate drivers, managers, or
bodyguards... accountants or
receptionists; The ban on street
soliciting is intended to take
prostitution out of public view to
prevent nuisance, but endangers
prostitutes by preventing them
from weeding out dangerous
clients, and is therefore grossly
disproportionate to its purpose.”

The future impacts of this
eradication of Canada’s prostitution
laws are uncertain, but what is
certain is that this will continue

to be an important issue both
nationally and locally.

Global Homosexual Law

decriminalize gay sex by the

Delhi High Court. Though the
Delhi High Court said “gay sex
between consenting adults should
not be treated as a crime,” the
Supreme Court said the ultimate
responsibility for changing the law
rests with the parliament.

The government said, in its petition
filed with the Supreme Court,

that “the position of the central
government on this issue has been
that the Delhi High Court verdict...
is correct.” While the petition
awaits a final decision in India,
developments continue in different
areas of the world. According to

an article on the BBC World News
website, “Uganda's parliament

has passed a bill to toughen the
punishment for homosexual acts to
include life imprisonment in some
cases.”

This bill, originally put forth in
2009 as a private member’s bill, also
makes it possible for individuals

who do not report gay people

to be potentially given a prison
sentence, and bans any promotion
of homosexuality.

Though the bill passed, the prime
minister opposed the vote by
stating that an insufficient number
of MPs were present.

These activities have made it very
difficult and dangerous for gay
rights activists and individuals in
Uganda. Opinions on the matter are
divided both internationally and
within the country.

These two instances, coupled with
the developments on gay laws in
Russia, represent only a fraction

of the activity within the sphere

of global homosexual rights.
However, as international attention
surrounding these issues increases,
more developments are likely to
continue. This will impact the
overall state of homosexual, and
human, rights around the world in
the future.