Constitutional challenge of Canada’s sex work laws begins in court

An alliance of sex worker rights groups is currently in Ontario Superior Court to challenge federal laws they say violate sex workers’ constitutional rights and put them in danger.

Under the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA), selling sex is legal, but buying is not.

As a result, the groups say clients are more hesitant to provide details about themselves, making screening difficult and forcing sex workers to operate in unsafe and isolating work environments.

Jenn Clamen with the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform said it is not the work itself that is risky, but the laws criminalizing clients and third parties that put sex workers at risk, particularly Black, Indigenous, migrant and trans sex workers.

“Criminalization is the main cause of harm,” Clamen said at a rally outside the courthouse on University Avenue. “The PCEPA sends a strong message to society that sex workers are undesirable and must be eliminated.”

Butterfly, which provides support to Asian sex workers across the country, said immigration laws prohibit migrants from working in the trade, and perpetrators know they are unable to seek help.

The organization said its members must choose between risking arrest and deportation or abuse and robbery.

The federal government argues the law protects people from being coerced into sex work. But in June, a parliamentary committee found the PCEPA “causes serious harm to those engaged in sex work by making the work more dangerous.”

“We’re in court today because parliament failed to protect sex workers’ rights. We’re in court today because of government inaction and indifference,” Clamen said.

The hearings will continue this week.