Time for legal brothels in Canada

Op Ed -- Time for legal brothels in Canada
Posted Jan 25, 2007 by gohomelaker in Politics and viewed 64 times

Renewed debate in Canada in light of Robert Pickton prostitute murder trial
Full story: edmontonsun.com There is a renewed debate in Canada about it's archaic prostitution laws in light of the ongoing ghastly trial of accused mass murderer Robert Pickton. The Port Coquitlam, B.C., pig farmer is charged with murdering six street prostitutes. The trial that is currently underway this week in Vancouver has heard testimony that he confessed to killing dozens more.

Some commentators say that the best way our society could protect sex-trade workers would be by liberalizing our prostitution laws. Canada could look to the State of Nevada where they have legalized brothels to set a standard by.

Recently an Edmonton rock radio station, The Bear, was abuzz with the prostitution law debate. The question they asked their listeners was: Should prostitution be fully legalized to help protect the sex-trade workers from harm? The callers seemed split 50-50 on the issue.

One male caller said it was fruitless to try to outlaw what he deemed to be "the world's oldest profession." A female caller had the view that allowing legalized brothels and the like would make young men and women believe prostitution was an average, healthy, career choice - not unlike choosing to be a school teacher. Still another woman just didn't like the idea that some so-called "skanky" women could be able to legally operate in society, thus tempting women's boyfriends into sin.

The radio show host argument was that people should stop thinking about the morality of prostitution itself and instead consider how legalizing it might just save lives.

First off, in typical Canadian style, prostitution isn't truly illegal per se. The actual act of communicating for the purposes of sex is what is against the law.

As the author says, "Talk about your Canadian compromise. It's legal but it isn't. It sounds like the federal government's position on Quebec. It's a nation but not really."

There are many arguments for the pros (and cons) of legalizing prostitution, it would stop the victimization of women by their pimps and it could stop feeding the bank accounts of organized crime gangs.

The author leaves us with this final thought: "Perhaps with this change in our law, one girl who's now working the unsafe streets will avoid the kind of fate that befell the sex-trade workers whose body parts, sickeningly, turned up on that infamous British Columbia pig farm."

Yes indeed.