The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada has released a 20-page report entitled Selling Ourselves: Prostitution in Canada, Where are we Headed?
The report is a comparative analysis of two distinct approaches to prostitution, taken by Sweden and the Netherlands. It compares the two legislative frameworks and the results of each on rates of prostitution and human trafficking, and then makes recommendations for legislative reform here in Canada.
The study was initiated because Canada’s existing laws governing prostitution are currently being challenged in two court cases, one in Ontario and one in British Columbia.
The release of the report also coincides with the second reading passage in the Senate of Bill C-268, a private members’ bill sponsored by MP Joy Smith. Smith’s Bill C-268 proposes amending the Criminal Code to provide for minimum sentences for those found guilty of trafficking in persons under the age of 18 years. The bill has been sent to the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology for review.
Based on the findings of the report, the EFC’s strong recommendation to the government will be to follow the Swedish model. An approach that doesn’t criminalize those whose bodies are being sold, but rather those who purchase them, and the pimps and gangs who profit.