This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25468587
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Canada Supreme Court strikes down prostitution laws | Canada Supreme Court strikes down prostitution laws |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously struck down the nation's anti-prostitution laws. | The Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously struck down the nation's anti-prostitution laws. |
| The high court deemed laws prohibiting brothels, communicating in public with clients and living on the profits of prostitution disproportionate. | The high court deemed laws prohibiting brothels, communicating in public with clients and living on the profits of prostitution disproportionate. |
| The ruling follows a court challenge filed by women who participated in the sex trade. | The ruling follows a court challenge filed by women who participated in the sex trade. |
| The justices' decision gives the Canadian government one year to create new legislation. | The justices' decision gives the Canadian government one year to create new legislation. |
| All nine of the court's judges ruled unanimously in favour of striking the laws down, finding they were "grossly disproportionate". | |
| Community 'nuisance' | |
| "It is not a crime in Canada to sell sex for money," Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin wrote in the decision. | |
| But Canada's criminal code currently makes it illegal to keep a brothel, communicate in public about acts of prostitution or live off its proceeds. | |
| Those laws were found to specifically target the community "nuisance" of street prostitutes and their "johns". | |
| "Parliament has the power to regulate against nuisances, but not at the cost of the health, safety and lives of prostitutes," Justice McLachlin wrote. | |
| "The prohibitions at issue 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." | |
| Under the ruling, the Canadian Parliament has 12 months to rewrite the laws or they will be withdrawn. | |
| Anti-prostitution laws will continue to be enforced in the interim. | |
| A constitutional challenge by three women with experience in the sex trade, Terri-Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch and Valerie Scott, prompted the case. | |
| 'Compulsion from pimps' | |
| Canada's highest court last ruled in favour of upholding the nation's anti-prostitution laws 34 years ago. | |
| In March, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a ban on communicating for the purpose of prostitution, a decision which Ms Bedford challenged. | |
| Meanwhile, the federal and Ontario governments appealed against two other parts of that decision: striking down the law against brothels; and limiting the ban on living off the avails of prostitution. | |
| The Canadian authorities argued that they should be entitled to legislate against prostitution as they "see fit". | |
| Lawyers for the Ottawa government reportedly claimed "if the conditions imposed by the law prejudice [sex workers'] security, it is their choice to engage in the activity, not the law, that is the cause". | |
| But the Supreme Court ruled it was a not a choice for many. | |
| "Whether because of financial desperation, drug addictions, mental illness, or compulsion from pimps, they often have little choice but to sell their bodies for money," Justice McLachlin wrote. |