{"id":23487,"date":"2023-09-18T12:54:14","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T16:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/?post_type=news&p=23487"},"modified":"2023-09-18T12:54:17","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T16:54:17","slug":"ontario-superior-court-fails-to-protect-the-equality-rights-of-sex-workers","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/news\/ontario-superior-court-fails-to-protect-the-equality-rights-of-sex-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario Superior Court fails to protect the equality rights of sex workers\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

 September 18, 2023<\/strong> \u2013 Today, Ontario\u2019s Superior Court of Justice dismissed the case challenging the constitutionality of Canada\u2019s laws criminalizing sex work, also known as the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act <\/em>(\u201cPCEPA\u201d).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The federal government made PCEPA law in 2014, after the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the previous sex work laws in Bedford<\/em>\u202ffor violating sex workers\u2019\u202fCharter<\/em>\u202frights. The enactment of PCEPA not only criminalized clients, but criminalized the exchange of sex work for consideration (such as money) for the first time in Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform and several individual applicants started a Charter<\/em> challenge. They alleged that provisions of PCEPA applicable to sex work done by persons over 18 violated the rights of sex workers under ss. 2(b) (freedom of expression), 2(d) (freedom of association), 7 (life, liberty, and security of the person), and 15 (equality) of the Charter<\/em>. LEAF intervened in this case to highlight the discriminatory impacts of PCEPA on sex workers and provide guidance on how the court should consider these in deciding whether the provisions violated s. 15. LEAF\u2019s\u202fsubmissions<\/a>\u202femphasized the importance of taking an intersectional approach when assessing the impact of the laws.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a gender equality organization, we are deeply disappointed that the court failed to recognize how the laws criminalizing sex work violate the equality rights of sex workers,\u201d said Pam Hrick, Executive Director and General Counsel of LEAF. \u201cThis is especially true for those at higher risk of criminalization, such as Black, Indigenous, trans and\/or migrant sex workers.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In dismissing every aspect of the Charter<\/em> challenge, the court declined to find that sex work is an \u201canalogous ground\u201d of discrimination under section 15 of the Charter<\/em>. This fundamentally misunderstood the argument of the Applicants. It further resulted in fundamentally misapplying the intersectional equality approach to s. 15 that LEAF advanced in its intervention. The Court also rejected that PCEPA has created the conditions that give rise to the discrimination and harms faced by sex workers, while troublingly giving little weight to the direct evidence of sex workers in the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/strong>\u201cSex work is not inherently exploitative or dangerous,\u201d said Hrick. \u201cRather, it\u2019s the laws criminalizing sex work that make sex work dangerous, because criminalization subjects sex workers to increased surveillance and targeting by law enforcement, exacerbates stigma around sex work, and keeps them from seeking government supports. While today’s decision is a setback, we will continue to advocate for the rights, dignity, and equality of sex workers both in and outside of the courts.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pam Hrick, Rosel Kim (LEAF Senior Staff Lawyer), and Dragana Rakic (formerly of Stockwoods LLP) represented LEAF in this intervention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LEAF\u2019s arguments were informed and supported by a case committee composed of academics and practitioners with expertise in relevant issues.\u202fLEAF is grateful to the members of the case committee that helped to shape this intervention: Gillian Calder, Julie Kaye, Ummni Khan, Kate Shannon, and Adriel Weaver. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For media inquiries, please contact:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pam Hrick<\/strong> 
Executive Director & General Counsel, LEAF 
416-595-7170 ext. 2002 
media@leaf.ca<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Women\u2019s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF)\u202f<\/strong> 
The Women\u2019s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is a national not-for-profit that works to advance the equality rights of women, girls, trans, and non-binary people in Canada through litigation,\u202flaw reform,\u202fand public legal education.\u202fSince 1985, LEAF has intervened in more than 100 cases that have helped shape the\u202fCanadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. To find out more, visit\u202fwww.leaf.ca.\u202f <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categories":[206,234,96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23487","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","category-criminal-law","category-intersectional-feminism","category-socio-economic-rights-cases"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOntario Superior Court fails to protect the equality rights of sex workers\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 - LEAF<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/news\/ontario-superior-court-fails-to-protect-the-equality-rights-of-sex-workers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ontario Superior Court fails to protect the equality rights of sex workers\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 - LEAF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" September 18, 2023 \u2013 Today, Ontario\u2019s Superior Court of Justice dismissed the case challenging the constitutionality of Canada\u2019s laws criminalizing sex work, also known as the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (\u201cPCEPA\u201d).   The federal government made PCEPA law in 2014, after the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the previous sex work laws […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/news\/ontario-superior-court-fails-to-protect-the-equality-rights-of-sex-workers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LEAF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-18T16:54:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/news\\\/ontario-superior-court-fails-to-protect-the-equality-rights-of-sex-workers\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/news\\\/ontario-superior-court-fails-to-protect-the-equality-rights-of-sex-workers\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ontario Superior Court fails to protect the equality rights of sex workers\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 - 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