A Commentary by Mollie Stovell
Late this September, Superior Court Justice Susan Himel overturned the current laws in Ontario used to criminalize the acts surrounding prostitution. It will no longer be illegal for prostitutes to communicate with potential clients, to operate out of a bawdy house, or to employ bodyguards and other individuals to aide in their safety. 
As residents of Niagara, we are no strangers to the prevalence of sex work. The massage parlours are plenty, and we all suspect they are a front for paid sexual services. The only difference now is the legitimacy of these businesses, and their ability to operate with honesty, thus making the employees less stigmatized, and empowered to make more decisions that will benefit themselves directly.
The new worry is an increase of sex workers in the region and across the province. It is important to recognize that they are already here. I think it is time that we all open up the Yellow Pages and have a look under the “escort” section. Sex work is nothing new and is already established here in Niagara. All you have to do is look.
Will we see this change? Will it increase? In my opinion, the biggest change will be our ability to admit to ourselves what is going on in our region and all over Canada. We can stop fooling ourselves by thinking that the vulnerability of these workers is not an issue that we need to be concerned with. Knowing the prevalence, hopefully we can make the safety of these women and men a priority far above our shyness or personal ethical standards.
The government has 30 days to issue an appeal and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has already stated their intention to do so. With many people being upset and frightened by this verdict, we should expect to see more and more arguments as to why we should not be taking this step forward. But to continue to have these individuals work in the shadows is no suitable alternative. It is about time that they are able to make an honest living, even if they are doing something that many find imprudent.
Rather than being governed by our own views, maybe we should decide to be governed by what is best for the community. A single sex worker in a dangerous situation that could have been prevented by a new liberal change to our laws is one too many.
(Mollie Stovell is a resident of Niagara, Ontario. This is her second contribution to Niagara At Large.)
(Visit Niagara At Large at http://www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to our greater binational Niagara region.)
Niagara At Large 
Safety.
Safety for the average prostitute – age 14!
How do we do that … actually? How do we prevent Human Trafficking?
Do we support the private member’s bill of Louise SMITH, MP from Edmonton? She proposes that we follow the Swedish model which allows the Sale of sex, but criminalises the Buying of sex. [ http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent of 2010-09-29?]
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Thank you for the link. The discussion was both interesting an informative.
Criminalizing the purchase, as opposed to the sale of sex is a very interesting idea, one that does seem to be decreasing the demand in Sweden. Maybe this will be something that is looked at thoroughly as the debate rages on.
But it seems that we are getting ahead of ourselves here. Certainly this ruling has opened the debate, looking at everything from prostitution laws and human trafficking to drugs and mafia related crime. However, I don’t believe that the results of this ruling will negatively affect the majority of those that are on our streets today. Taking a step to ensure the safety of these sex workers is not a bad thing. I simply can not agree with striking down a ruling that will treat these “victims” as individuals, decriminalizing their acts.
As for human trafficking, this is a horrific practice that we need to be more aware of. It is a heinous crime that needs much more focus and money to combat it. I would much rather see an officer working against sex slavery and the trafficking of youth than wasting his or her time arresting a lone prostitute on a street corner….one so afraid of being caught that he or she will hastily jump into any car before being able to assess the client.
If we are to believe that these women, and men, out there are all in peril, then we need to treat them as such. We need to help them find a new path, heal their emotional scars, and treat them as the empowered women and men that they have the potential to be. I find it hard to believe however, that if this line of thinking is accepted as law, that the very individuals against this current judicial change will be the same ones fighting against an increase in taxes to help these individuals.
It is easy for us to believe that no one would become a prostitute if they did not have to. But we are not these people and we don’t know their situations. Maybe the money earned is reason enough for some. Maybe some see the sexual experiences as a benefit. It is not for us to judge. We need to decide if we can accept that we are forcing them to work in dangerous situations because of our own feelings of moral superiority.
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Sex workers are considered expendable under the present system, over forty women were murdered in British Columbia by one man Picton a pig farmer, a sex worker was murdered and thrown into a ditch in Vineland the murderer got one day in jail, many of these women are native women or women with drug, or mental problems, divorced etcet, but fall outside the legal system the bible talks about the temple prostitutes who plyed their trade there, Jesus had compassion for these poor women who new how they got there.do we have any compassion? do our laws? I don’t think so. George
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