Dear ________________ , MP
In light of the recent court decision handed down in Ontario, I am urging you as my representative in Ottawa to amend the Criminal Code by rewriting our prostitution laws in a way that criminalize johns (sex buyers) and pimps, and decriminalize the person being sold. This model of law, often called the Nordic Model, is based on the recognition that prostitution is a form of male violence against women. It penalizes the buying of sex, while decriminalizing those who are being sold. We ask you to follow the lead of countries such as Sweden, Norway, Iceland and other countries who have legislated this model and have seen a reduction in prostitution, increasing in the stigma of buying and selling women.
It is a misguided notion that legalizing prostitution protects women. It is not the law that harms women, but rather the men who are buying and raping them; we must take a firm stand against the male driven demand for paid sexual access to the bodies of women and children. Legalized prostitution protects these very men and legitimates the buying of sex which fuels the expansion of the “industry”.
Countries that have legalized or decriminalized prostitution (New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands, etc.) have seen an increase in human trafficking, illegal brothels, and organized crime activity. The mayor of Amsterdam called the experiment with legalization “an abysmal failure” due to the increase in organized crime, human trafficking and drug trafficking, and has already closed one-third of the Red Light District in Amsterdam. In New Zealand the Legal Brothel Owners Association is complaining of Chinese women being trafficked into the country, undercutting their prices, and being coerced to offer riskier sex acts. Any time prostitution has been legalized there is an expansion of the industry, an increase in human trafficking, and a normalization of sexual exploitation.
Prostitution is systemic violence against women and a major deterrent to women’s equality. Canada has a chance to be a world leader in sex equality through clearly naming prostitution as a violation of women’s and children’s right to safety, and rewriting our laws to reflect this fact.
To deny women and children any of their basic needs and then offer up prostitution as a solution is exploitation. Prostitution cannot be viewed as a choice but rather a lack of choice and opportunity. Aboriginal women and children are disproportionately overrepresented in street prostitution as result of colonization and far reaching systemic injustice; national and local Aboriginal women’s groups loudly oppose the legalization of prostitution.
As a member of your constituency I’m asking you to protect vulnerable women and children by rewriting the Criminal Code to criminalize the purchasing of sex and decriminalize the person being sold.
Signed ____________________________