Legislation and policing practices that deal with the sex trade are guided by assumptions
that sex work is deviant and that those who sell sex are morally impaired, whether through
birth, socialization or socio-economic status. In labeling the women working in the sex
trade as “criminal,” society sidesteps the obligation to deal with underlying social
inequalities that impact the work and shape working conditions. Instead of addressing the
roots of exploitation, the criminal justice system is used to contain or “cleanse” cities
of the unwanted manifestations of the capitalist market. The consultations that gave rise
to the communication law were marked by an outward concern, driven by business
associations and developers, about the economic costs of a visible sex trade presence.
Since the introduction of the communicating law the focus of arrests has been on street
prostitutes. As sociologist Kari Fedec notes, the various laws in Canadian history have
been consistent in targeting the sellers of sex for violating moral and social codes of
conduct. Sexually exploited women and children continue to be indicted as offenders by
local communities and the law, even where they are victims of abuse by male clients.
Issues of power and control are not only expressed in sex-trade interactions, but in
police charging practices as well. Sex workers, unlike clients, are perceived to be part
of a criminal underclass associated with thefts and drugs and treated accordingly. The
arrests of prostitutes and their removal from areas near commercial venues, such as
upcoming Olympic sites in Vancouver, is portrayed by police as part of a broader security
strategy focused on these other offences.
This ongoing practices of what might be called “supply-side policing” is reinforced in
policing policies and practices that exclusively focus on street sweeps of prostitutes and
the use of “boundary conditions” that prohibit sex trade workers from being present in
specific commercial zones, such as the planned Olympic venue sites in Vancouver.
— Linchpin #11 - The ‘crime’ of sex work By Jeff Shantz
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