Canada's highest court recently heard arguments in a case challenging the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA). This law makes it illegal to buy sex or profit from someone else's sex work.
Sex worker rights groups like SWAN argue PCEPA hurts their safety. They say it pushes sex work underground, making it harder for workers to screen clients or work together for safety. Sex workers also argue the law unfairly targets them while ignoring the pimps and buyers who exploit them.
Opponents of sex work, like CLES, believe PCEPA protects women by targeting those who exploit them. They argue the law has shifted power away from pimps and buyers towards sex workers.
The debate hinges on whether sex work is inherently exploitative. Sex worker rights groups say it's not, and criminalizing it increases violence. They want sex work treated like other jobs, with labor rights and protections. Some unions even support this view.
Research suggests exploitation comes from the power dynamics between workers and those who control them, not sex work itself. Sex worker rights groups argue they should be included in discussions about sex work laws, not excluded.