Prostitution: No Simple Solutions
Prostitution is not an isolated issue, but a symptom of larger systemic problems. Lack of affordable housing, social systems and monetary help from social programs puts many people in the position where they must sell their bodies in order to survive.
From a legal perspective, prostitution was considered a status offence associated with vagrancy until 1972, when the soliciting law was passed. It proved to be ineffective and was replaced by the current communicating law in 1985 (see Criminal Code, R.S.C. c. C-46, s. 213). The communicating law provides that although the act of prostitution is not illegal, it is illegal to communicate publicly for the sale or purchase of sexual services. The main purpose of this law was to make prostitution less visible, thus maintaining public order (Juristat). The drawback of this solution is that it does not address the social and systemic problems that create the need for selling and purchasing sexual services. It simply places a band-aid over a much larger social issue.
With the lack of low-income housing, people who work on the street do so to afford safe places to live. In a survey done through the Dream Catchers program at Klinic Community Health Centre and Sage House, many people interviewed stated the reason they entered prostitution was to afford the basic essentials of life. Some were on Welfare, others were working minimum wage jobs; some were supporting a family, others were trying to break an addiction. All had things in common: a lack of, or inability to attain, an education, a feeling of prejudice due to their history of sex-trade work, and an inability to get a better-paying job without an education or prior job experience. With all of these factors weighing on them, it is hard to break the cycle.
Interviewees who were trying to leave prostitution stated that it was difficult because funds they received from Welfare or their minimum wage jobs were insufficient to meet their cost of living. The amount of money they made selling sexual services could not be obtained once they had exited prostitution. They were forced to live in rooming houses, hotels or apartments that were substandard in respect of health and safety. They were put into a “Catch 22” situation: they were forced to live surrounded by people who were living the very lifestyle of prostitution and addiction which they sought to escape. They were much more likely to relapse than if they could remove themselves from that environment altogether; an impossibility without a better paying job or more assistance. It is a classic vicious circle.
Interviewees also stated it was hard to escape the stigma and prejudice that came with a history of prostitution. Since they were unable to work in jobs that would get them more involved in the community, they found it hard to integrate back into the mainstream. This again led to the temptation to return to their old lives.
The surveys also indicated that many of the people involved in street-level prostitution had a history of sexual abuse and often left home at an early age due to abuse and violence. The term “survival sex” is used for street-level prostitution as the majority of the people involved come from such homes. They find themselves, usually at a young age, on the street with no support. The choice to sell sexual services is really not a choice at all but a question of survival.
In 2005 The Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Security and Emergency Preparedness visited major city centres in many of the provinces to interview and gather data on prostitution to aide in their attempt to improve the safety of sex-trade workers. During the panel discussions, many interviewed stated the same reasons as the above examples for why they had turned to prostitution in the first place. In 2006 the Subcommittee released their findings in “The Challenge of Change: A Study of Canada’s Criminal Prostitution Laws”.
Many different variables play a part in why a person enters the sex trade. It only makes sense to include different levels of Government, law enforcement, NGO’s and social services to pursue creative, global solutions rather than simply trying to get prostitution off the street and out of the public eye. This has already started with different education programs such as those run through Sage House, Klinic (Dream Catchers), and the Salvation Army, but more still needs to be done. More programs offering training in life skills, job skills, educational upgrading, and counseling for the underlying emotional issues are needed, as is more awareness of what help is currently available.
The most crucial thing that needs to be addressed, however, is the perception of the general public. We need to stop looking at sex-trade workers as the problem and see them as people. They are indicators of much greater social issues. Removing people engaged in prostitution from the public eye will not remove the underlying issues that put them there in the first place. Failing to address these issues as part of a solution will only allow the cycle to continue.

Sources:

A Submission to the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws of the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
http://www.salvationarmy.ca/documents/solicitation.pdf


Criminal Code Section 213
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cs/C-46/bo-ga:l_VII-gb:s_213/en#anchorbo-ga:l_VII-gb:s_213

Street Prostitution in Canada
http://www.statcan.ca/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=85-002-x19970028226

Shared Responsibility: Building Healthy Communities in Winnipeg's North End
http://ius.uwinnipeg.ca/pdf/wira_healthy_communities.pdf

The Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws. “The Challenge of Change: A Study of Canada’s Criminal Prostitution Laws”
http://www.nswp.org/pdf/SSLR-REPORT-06E