| Arts & Lettres | Poésie | Démocratie, laïcité, droits | Politique | Féminisme, rapports hommes-femmes | Femmes du monde | Polytechnique 6 décembre 1989 | Prostitution & pornographie | Syndrome d'aliénation parentale (SAP) | Voile islamique | Violences | Sociétés | Santé & Sciences | Textes anglais  

                   Sisyphe.org    Accueil                                   Plan du site                       






jeudi 15 janvier 2009

Prostitution : Violating the Human Rights of Poor Women

par l’Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes (AOcVF)






Écrits d'Élaine Audet



Chercher dans ce site


AUTRES ARTICLES
DANS LA MEME RUBRIQUE


Burkini Is a Feminist Issue Too
The notion that it’s ok for disabled men to pay for sex is rooted in misogyny and ableism
Egyptian doctor living in Zurich produces educational videos about health and sexuality for the Arab world
Amnesty International and Prostitution : Not in Our Name !
Open letter to rabble.ca - Support Meghan Murphy suffered a misogynist campaign by the sex industry lobby
"Insectual - The Secret of the Black Butterfly", by Barbara Sala
Canada’s New Sex Trade Law
Sharia Law, Apostasy and Secularism
“Harm reduction” is not enough to appropriately analyze prostitution
True Progressives Encourage Women’s Equality, Not Their Prostitution
Sexual mutilations outside Africa : new report and new denial except the Iraqi case
FGM slowing down ? The UN asserts it, the Indonesian case contradicts it
Prostitution, STRASS and the senator - When opacity becomes relevant
Is equating prostitution and rape ‘intolerable violence’ ? Really ?
Obama, Madonna and us
After Ontario Courts rule on Bedford : a rant
Comparing Sex Buyers and Non-Sex Buyers July 2011 (Boston)
Sex resistance in heterosexual arrangements
Abolitionists of the prostitution system : who we are, what we want !
Women Living Under Muslim Laws Statement on Libya
Prostitution is a Threat to Humanity
Prostitution - Call for Australia’s prostitution laws to be tightened
Violence - An Open Letter from Black Women to SlutWalk Organizers
Nothing that is sexual can be considered criminal : hidden sexual violence in the DSK case
The Truth about Global Sex Slavery – A Book by Lydia Cacho
Why reproductive rights and prostitution are not the same thing : A response to one decriminalization argument
Prostitution - The abolitionist project within the conference Women’s Worlds 2011
Montreal - The Turcotte jury got it wrong
Reasons I Will Not Go On the Slutwalk
International Sex Industries and their Accomplices Hamper the Autonomy of All Women
Ten Critical Reasons for getting rid of Harper’s Conservatives
Real solidarity with prostituted women is in the fight for abolition of prostitution
Decriminalize prostituted persons and criminalize those who exploit them (‘johns’ and pimps)
Polygamy in Canada Should Remain Illegal
My fears of the push for indoors prostitution
We cannot be satisfied with the simple harm-reduction model
The Native Women’s Association of Canada is Worried About Himel’s Judgement on Prostitution
Ontario Court Decision Abandons Aboriginal Women and Women of Colour to Pimps
Response to the VPD review in the cases of the Pickton Murders
Speech - The effects of globalization of political Islam on Women’s Rights, the question with polygamy, the Niqab and Honour Killing
Quebec Forges Enlightened Trail on Burkas
Breast Cancer a Disease, No a Marketing Opportunity
The International Campaign To Closedown Iranian Embassies
Violation of rights in Iran, a window from my experience to a broader picture
"Sex worker" ? Never met one !
The Prostitutors
The One Million Signatures Campaign has been awarded the prestigious Global Women’s Rights Award from the Feminist Majority Foundation
Prostitution - Feminist Perspectives, a book
More than 1 000 american historians call for equity in the stimulus package in open letter to Obama
Order of Canada Awarded to Dr. Morgentaler - Acts of intimidation should not rule Canada
Femaid report on Afghanistan, May 2008
Time for Quebecers to be more open : Bouchard-Taylor report
Canadian Bar Association supports strengthening equality in the Quebec Charter
Zero Tolerance for Johns : How the Government of Sweden Would Respond to Spitzer
Politicians are responsible for toxic, misogynist environment facing girls
Spitzer - The Myth of the Victimless Crime
Goodbye To All That (#2)
The freedom to never prostitute oneself
NO legalized brothels for the Olympics 2010 - Aboriginal women’s Action Network statement on prostitution
CLES says NO to the violence of prostitution
Does Porn Make the Man ?
A Trip Into the Absurd
Mothers File International Complaint Against United States
Prostitutes are victims, not criminals
Anthology of Québec Women’s Plays in English Translation, Volume I (1966-1986)
The Concertation des luttes contre l’exploitation sexuelle (CLES) intervene during the upcoming provincial election
Prostitution - Three Women and a Debate
Men Favour the Apolitical Discourse on Prostitution
The Whole Truth Must be Told : Sylviane’s testimony on her experience of prostitution
Democracy and Religious Obligations : an Impasse ?
What is liberation ? Feminism past, present and future
Books by Andrea Dworkin
Globalization, Militarism and Sex Trafficking
Muslim Groups Denounce the Cultural Relativism of a Certain Left
Canadian Muslim leader alleges her veil views sparked vandalism
Prostitution : CATW’S Post-World Cup Statement
NOW to denounce so-called parental alienation
Prostitution : for an Abolitionist Bill
The dimensions of trafficking for purposes of prostitution
"Charm is a Guise ; Batterers Belong in Jail, Expert Says"
Interview with Catherine MacKinnon : Are Women Human ?
Danish cartoons - Doing away with the Enlightenment ?
It’s happening next door : from incestuous girls to alienating mothers
Green Light for Pimps and Johns
Buying Sex is not a Sport
Prostitution is Violence Against Women
The Ideal Site for the Crime
Tell me, what does "gender" really mean ?
Gunilla Ekberg : « The best thing we can do for our sisters is to support them to get out of prostitution »
Interview with Catharine A. MacKinnon : « They haven’t crushed me yet. »
Decriminalizing prostitution, a magnet for pimps and johns
Lovesick
Declaration on Religious Arbitration in Family Law
Prostitution : Towards a Canadian policy of abolition
Prostitution inseparable of violence against women
The need for a public debate on prostitution and its social consequences
Prostitution of First Nations Women in Canada
270 000 $ granted to Stella for a four days event on sex work
IN MEMORIAM : Andrea Dworkin or The passion for justice
Decriminalizing prostitution will not improve the security of prostituted women
Dworkin - Taking Back the Night
Backlash and Whiplash : A Critique of Statistics Canada’s 1999 General Social Survey on Victimization
Helping the prostituted women or promoting prostitution ?
The Need for a Public Debate on Prostitution and its Social Consequences
The legalization of prostitution and its impact on trafficking in women and children
Prostitution Links, Women’s Justice Center
"If you don’t take a job as a prostitute, we can stop your benefits"
Sweden Treating Prostitution as Violence Against Women
Forced marriage as crime
Why Women Must Get out of Men’s Laps
International Campaing Against Shari’a Court in Canada
Decriminalize prostituted women, not prostitution
Canada Contributes to the Sexual Trafficking of Women for Purposes of Prostitution
Fathers’ Rights Groups in Australia and their Engagement with Issues in Family Law
Women Rage Against ’Rape’ in Northeast India
Sexual domination in uniform : an american value
Tribunals Will Marginalize Canadian Muslin Women and Increase Privatization of Family Law
The sexual sadism of our culture, in peace and in war
Queer theory and violence against women
The Legalisation of Prostitution : A failed social experiment
Globalization and the Sex Trade : Trafficking and the Commodification of Women and Children
Will Paternal Paranoia Triumph ?
Ode to Survivors
Court confirms any woman’s human right to organize with peers
Program produces motherless kids
Legitimating Prostitution as Sex Work : UN Labour Organization (ILO) Calls for Recognition of the Sex Industry (Part One)
Legitimating Prostitution as Sex Work : UN International Labour Organization Calls for Recognition of the Sex Industry (Part Two)
Elisabeth Badinter distorts feminism the better to fight it
Prostitution : Rights of Women or Right to Women ?
The "Stolen Feminism" Hoax : Anti-Feminist Attack Based on Error-Filled Anecdotes
Hormone Replacement Therapy, the "Magic Bullet" Ricochets
For the sake of the children : the law, domestic violence and children contact in England
Friendships between women good for health
Children of divorce need our protection
Divorce Bill’s flaws inadvertently aid abusers
Problem isn’t little boys, it’s little minds
A report from Status of Women Canada about the discursive denial of gender inequalities
Ten Reasons for Not Legalizing Prostitution
Poem for Peace
Peace Rally Speech of a 12 year old American Girl
Good clone, bad clone ?
Canadian Women’s Health Network
So hard to say goodbye







Executive summary

In the current discourse, women are being asked to view decriminalization or legalization of prostitution as : a means of showing respect for women in prostitution ; liberatory and pro-sex ; a means of reducing prostitution’s harms ; and an acknowledgement that prostitution is a form of work.

To evaluate these claims, Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes (AOcVF) commissioned a report by Shelagh Day, a leading human rights analyst. Prostitution : Violating the Human Rights of Poor Women asks : are prostitution, and the decriminalization or legalization of prostitution, consistent with the human rights of women ? The report concludes that prostitution, and the decriminalization of prostitution, cannot be squared with women’s constitutionally entrenched rights to equality and security of the person.

*****

For women’s organizations that are dedicated to advancing the equality of the poorest and most vulnerable women, this is an important moment to take a position on the law with respect to prostitution. Not only does the ongoing, overwhelming violence of prostitution require a response, but in both political and judicial arenas, Canadian laws on prostitution are under scrutiny.

Two Parliamentary Committees have recently issued reports on prostitution and trafficking in Canada. In addition, two constitutional challenges have been filed in Ontario and British Columbia courts that seek to strike down the sections of the Criminal Code that prohibit communicating in public for the purpose of selling or buying sex, living on the avails of prostitution, and keeping a common bawdy house. These constitutional challenges are likely to be heard in 2009. Women’s organizations need to be ready to contribute to a renewed debate.

For poor women and girls in Canada, prostitution is a means of obtaining survival income. The central question for any prostitution reform is : what will help women, particularly the poorest racialized women, to escape the violence and inequality of prostitution ? There appear to be two different responses to this question in Canada, and in countries around the world. One response is to decriminalize or legalize prostitution ; the other is to prohibit men from buying women and to help women to escape from prostitution.

What both sides in this debate seem to agree on is that no social good is served by using the criminal law against women who are in prostitution. Criminalizing poor women for the impact of poverty, racism, early sexual abuse, and the lingering effects of colonization does not seem just.

The disagreement is about how to deal with men who buy sex and with those who profit from the sale of sex – the pimps, brothel owners, and others who control the prostitution industry. Currently, there are two principal approaches. Advocates for decriminalization or legalization say the men who buy women, the pimps and the prostitution industrialists should be decriminalized too. Abolitionists say buyers, pimps and prostitution industrialists should remain criminalized and be barred from profiting from the sale of women’s bodies.

In the current discourse, women are being asked to view decriminalization or legalization of prostitution as : a means of showing respect for women in prostitution ; liberatory and pro-sex ; a means of reducing prostitution’s harms ; and an acknowledgement that prostitution is a form of work.

To evaluate these claims, Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes (AOcVF) commissioned a report by Shelagh Day, a leading human rights analyst. Prostitution : Violating the Human Rights of Poor Women asks : are prostitution, and the decriminalization or legalization of prostitution, consistent with the human rights of women ? The report concludes that prostitution, and the decriminalization of prostitution, cannot be squared with women’s constitutionally entrenched rights to equality and security of the person.

Legal Approaches : Decriminalization, Legalization, Abolition

What is the difference between decriminalization, legalization, and abolition ? Decriminalization is the legal approach espoused by those who have filed the two constitutional challenges. Decriminalization would mean removing sections 210, 212(1)(j) and 213(1)(c) from the Criminal Code so that there was no law prohibiting communicating, or living on the avails of prostitution, or running a common bawdy house.

This would have the effect of decriminalizing the women who are in prostitution. But it would also decriminalize the buyers, the pimps, and the prostitution industry as a whole. It would make prostitution activities, and the prostitution industry, legal.

Proponents of decriminalization favour this approach on the grounds that : 1) prostitution is sex between consenting adults and governments should not interfere ; and 2) decriminalization will reduce harms to women in prostitution because women will be able to run their own brothels legally and be safer in indoor prostitution than on the street.

Decriminalization is a gender-neutral approach that treats the (mainly) women who sell sexual services and the men who purchase them as though they were the same. It also treats all of those involved in prostitution – the women, pimps, and owners of large and small brothels, massage parlours, strip clubs – as though they were the same, by rendering legal all prostitution-related activities.

Decriminalization and legalization are seen by some to be different approaches. The term ‘decriminalization’ is used to indicate that the goal is to remove all criminal sanctions on prostitution and prostitution-related activities and to treat it like any other business. Legalization, by contrast, refers to legal regimes that remove criminal sanctions but also regulate prostitution.

In reality, the difference between decriminalization and legalization seems to lie merely in how much regulation of health and safety, zoning, licensing, or advertising is put in place after criminal sanctions are removed. In Germany, the state of Nevada, (U.S.A.), some states in Australia, and the Netherlands, which have legalized prostitution, regulation includes any or all of : registration of prostituted women, health and safety regulations, licensing of prostitution-related businesses, controls on the location and size of establishments, and the creation of “tolerance zones”. However, in the two jurisdictions that have ‘decriminalized’ – New Zealand and the state of New South Wales in Australia - governments also license brothels and impose zoning restrictions on where prostitution – indoor and outdoor – can be carried on. The main feature of both decriminalization and legalization is that prostitution is normalized by making it a legal activity and business.
The alternative legal approach to prostitution is abolition. This approach seeks to end prostitution based on the understanding that prostitution is a form of male violence against women, and an obstacle to women’s equality with men. Laws that have abolition as their goal decriminalize women in prostitution, but criminalize the buyers and the prostitution industry.

Sweden’s 1998 law is the leading example. Sweden’s Act Prohibiting the Purchase of Sexual Services makes it a criminal offence to obtain sexual services for payment whether they are purchased on the street, in brothels, or in massage parlours. Having embraced women’s right to equality, Sweden’s policy seeks to end prostitution, rather than manage or legitimise it.

The AOcVF report shows that, so far, decriminalization and legalization approaches are not achieving their espoused goals – that is, making women in prostitution safer, reducing health risks, and reducing street prostitution.

Jurisdictions that have legalized cannot show that women are safer, or that street prostitution is diminished. On the contrary, at the conclusion of a 2003 comparative study of legal regimes in the state of Victoria in Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden, Julie Bindel and Liz Kelly at London Metropolitan University, warned that legalization leads to an expansion of the sex industry, trafficking increases and organized crime flourishes .

In Canada, the federal all-party Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights rejected legalization as an approach to prostitution law reform and accepted evidence that “legalization has not alleviated violence against individuals selling sexual services – violence may even have increased.” Pimps have not disappeared in jurisdictions that have legalized prostitution ; neither has street prostitution .

A new report on New Zealand, one of the two jurisdictions that has decriminalized, seems to show a similar pattern. Street prostitution has not reduced since the introduction of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 ; the law has had no impact on street-based prostitution, and little effect on the violence that women in prostitution experience .

By contrast, both supporters and critics of Sweden’s law agree that street prostitution has been reduced by about 40 per cent since its law was introduced in 1998, and that the number of women trafficked into Sweden is low because the country is not viewed as an attractive destination country.

However, even if the record of decriminalization and legalization were better, the AOcVF report asks : is some reduction in the harms of prostitution an adequate goal, given Canada’s commitments to the substantive equality of women ? The report concludes that harm reduction, at bottom, is a position of capitulation. Decriminalization advocates have given up on the fundamental struggle to achieve equality and autonomy for the most vulnerable, racialized, poor women. They have turned instead to a defensive attempt to protect women from the worst harms that prostitution can bring, not by changing the conditions that catapult women into prostitution or by helping them out of prostitution, but rather by, ostensibly, giving them better market conditions in which to be self-employed prostitution entrepreneurs.

 Read and download full summary.



  • Website.
  • www.ressources-violence.org
  • aocvf@francofemmes.org

    On line, January 15, 2009



    Format Noir & Blanc pour mieux imprimer ce texteImprimer ce texte   Nous suivre sur Twitter   Nous suivre sur Facebook
       Commenter cet article plus bas.
  • l’Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes (AOcVF)
    Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes



        Pour afficher en permanence les plus récents titres et le logo de Sisyphe.org sur votre site, visitez la brève À propos de Sisyphe.

    © SISYPHE 2002-2009
    http://sisyphe.org | Archives | Plan du site | Copyright Sisyphe 2002-2016 | |Retour à la page d'accueil |Admin