A STUDY of CANADA's CRIMINAL PROSTITUTION LAWS Report
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HOUSE OF COMMONS CANADA THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE: A STUDY OF CANADA’S CRIMINAL PROSTITUTION LAWS Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights Art Hanger, M.P. Chair Report of the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws John Maloney, M.P. Chair DECEMBER 2006 The Speaker of the House hereby grants permission to reproduce this document, in whole or in part for use in schools and for other purposes such as private study, research, criticism, review or newspaper summary. Any commercial or other use or reproduction of this publication requires the express prior written authorization of the Speaker of the House of Commons. If this document contains excerpts or the full text of briefs presented to the Committee, permission to reproduce these briefs, in whole or in part, must be obtained from their authors. Also available on the Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire: http://www.parl.gc.ca Available from Communication Canada — Publishing, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0S9 THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE: A STUDY OF CANADA’S CRIMINAL PROSTITUTION LAWS Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights Art Hanger, M.P. Chair Report of the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws John Maloney, M.P. Chair DECEMBER 2006 Membership of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights CHAIR Art Hanger VICE-CHAIRS Derek Lee Réal Ménard MEMBERS Larry Bagnell Sue Barnes Patrick Brown Joe Comartin Carole Freeman Rob Moore Brian Murphy Daniel Petit Myron Thompson Membership of the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights CHAIR John Maloney MEMBERS Patricia Davidson Libby Davies Hedy Fry Art Hanger Réal Ménard JOINT CLERKS OF THE COMMITTEE Eugene Morawski Justin Vaive FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY INFORMATION AND RESEARCH SERVICE, LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Laura Barnett Lyne Casavant iii THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS has the honour to present its SIXTH REPORT The following motion was adopted: That, pursuant to Standing Order 108, there be established a Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws; that the Subcommittee be composed of six (6) members including 2 members of the Conservative Party, 2 members of the Liberal Party, 1 member of the Bloc Québécois and 1 member of the New Democratic Party to be named by the Committee, in consultation with the whips; that the subcommittee ensure that all published evidence submitted to the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws in the 38th Parliament be thoroughly referenced in their report; that the subcommittee consider if additional hearings are needed to clarify previously submitted evidence in the 38th Parliament; that the Subcommittee report to the Committee by December 8, 2006; and that the subcommittee have all the powers of the Committee under Standing Order 108(1)a) except the power to report directly to the House. The Subcommittee examined the subject-matter and agreed to present its observations and recommendations to the Committee in a report entitled “THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE: A STUDY OF CANADA’S CRIMINAL PROSTITUTION LAWS”. Your Committee had adopted this report which reads as follows: v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION................................................................................. 1 A. THE SUBCOMMITEE’S APPROACH...................................................................... 1 B. MANDATE AND REVIEW PROCESS ..................................................................... 1 C. STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT............................................................................. 3 CHAPTER TWO: A PROFILE OF PROSTITUTION IN CANADA ................................... 5 A. PROSTITUTION IN CANADA.................................................................................. 5 1. The Various Types of Prostitution..................................................................... 5 2. The Wide Range of Experiences and Settings ................................................. 6 The Concept of Choice................................................................................. 8 B. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE SCOPE OF PROSTITUTION?....................... 8 C. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO SELL SEXUAL SERVICES?........................................................................................................... 9 1. What do we Know about the Demographic Profile of People who Sell Sexual Services?....................................................................................... 10 (a) Women.......................................................................................................... 10 The Prevalence of Aboriginal Women ................................................................ 12 (b) Minors Exploited in Prostitution ..................................................................... 13 (c) Prostitution Involving Males, Transvestites and Transgendered Persons ..................................................................................................... 14 2. Drug Abuse and Prostitution .................................................................................. 15 3. The Health of Prostitutes........................................................................................ 16 4. A Shared Experience: Violence.............................................................................. 17 (a) A Dangerous Activity, According to Homicide Statistics................................ 18 (b) The Experience of Violence, Based on Data from Interviews with Persons Practising Prostitution .......................................................... 19 D. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT CLIENTS OF PROSTITUTION?.......................... 22 E. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT PIMPS AND PEOPLE WHO LIVE OFF THE AVAILS OF PROSTITUTION?..................................................................... 23 vii F. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF ORGANIZED CRIME IN PROSTITUTION? .................. 24 G. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (AND ILLEGAL MIGRATION) FOR THE PURPOSES OF PROSTITUTION?............... 26 CHAPTER THREE: PROSTITUTION AND ITS EFFECTS ........................................... 29 A. PROSTITUTION AND ITS EFFECTS ON WOMEN AND COMMUNITIES IN GENERAL............................................................................. 29 A Point of View Perceived as Moralistic ............................................................. 31 B. HARMFUL EFFECTS OF STREET PROSTITUTION............................................ 31 1. What the Subcommittee Learned about the Effects of Street Prostitution.............. 31 2. Victims or Criminals?.............................................................................................. 34 3. The Various Experiences of Communities in Canada and the Different Approaches Adopted by Communities to Counter the Negative Effects of Street Prostitution ................................................................................................ 34 CHAPTER FOUR: THE LEGAL RESPONSE TO PROSTITUTION .............................. 37 A. HISTORY OF THE LAW ........................................................................................ 37 1. 1892 — Vagrancy Law ................................................................................... 37 2. 1972 — Solicitation Law ................................................................................. 38 (a) The Law ................................................................................................ 38 (b) The Problem.......................................................................................... 38 (c) The Response....................................................................................... 40 3. 1985 — The Communicating Law .................................................................. 41 (a) The Communicating Law — Bill C-49 ................................................... 41 (b) Other Amendments and Studies ........................................................... 42 B. THE CURRENT LAW ............................................................................................ 44 1. Section 213 — The Communicating Law........................................................ 44 2. Sections 210 and 211 — The Bawdy House Laws......................................... 45 3. Section 212 — Procurement........................................................................... 47 4. Other Criminal Code Provisions ..................................................................... 49 5. International Law ............................................................................................ 49 C. THE LAW IN PRACTICE ....................................................................................... 52 viii 1. Section 213..................................................................................................... 52 (a) Statistics and Demographics................................................................. 52 (b) Enforcement Problems.......................................................................... 54 2. Sections 210 and 211..................................................................................... 55 (a) Statistics and Enforcement ................................................................... 55 (b) Excessive Scope................................................................................... 56 3. Section 212..................................................................................................... 57 (a) Statistics and Enforcement ................................................................... 57 (b) Excessive