Yes, the law will only change in mid-September, and, even then, I don't think things will change that much unless the police decide to change their policies.Is it still ok to visit an sp?
Yes, the law will only change in mid-September, and, even then, I don't think things will change that much unless the police decide to change their policies.Is it still ok to visit an sp?
Thanks for the infoYes, the law will only change in mid-September, and, even then, I don't think things will change that much unless the police decide to change their policies.
That's true. Our rubber stamp Parliament resumes sitting on Sept. 15th. Third and final reading will be sometime in late Sept., possibly early Oct., but almost certainly before Thanksgiving break, and then it goes to the rubber stamp Senate for the trained seals there to bark their approval. Realistically, we're probably looking at around Dec. 1st at the earliest. That's why the gov't is pushing so hard to get it pushed through because they feel they're running out of time.Not sure. I think that in mid September the Parliament would resume and debate the stupid bill and then it has to go to senate for their approval ... more likely late fall but the Cons in the so called parliament would push it so that it becomes law before December 21.
Most of us up until this new law would definitely complain if we seen an underage or anyone seemingly coerced. Another reason why this law further endangers the exact people this ridiculous government claims to want to help.Cops urge johns to speak up
http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/08/01/cops-urge-johns-to-speak-up
Could the johns buying their services really be "valuable allies" to those trafficked to sell sex?
That's the question posed by a report this week from human trafficking foes PACT-Ottawa after more than half of 104 local sex buyers they surveyed on backpage.com said they wouldn't have sex and would call police if they suspected coercion.
That jibes with research on more than 1,200 sex buyers by sociologist Chris Atchison, who calls them "probably the only people that are in the power position to actually report something if they did see it going on."
Of the less than one in 20 that had witnessed victimization, a third or two-thirds -- depending on whether the perpetrator was a "third party" or fellow client -- did something about it, most citing reporting to police.
Based on two decades studying the sex trade, Atchison thinks that the number of trafficked and coerced is small but that criminalizing johns who seek willing partners as new prostitution laws propose makes that less likely.
"You are a criminal -- any potential risk that they are going to be detected and arrested and outed, socially, is a risk that is too high for them," he said.
"We cut off a valuable resource for detecting and reporting abuses in the cases where they do occur."
Sextrade101 founder Natasha Falle, who says she survived being trafficked across Canada from her teens and now advocates for Bill C-36 , scoffs at the idea and calls instances where johns report trying to help -- like the notorious local case of teen girls pimping terrorized peers -- exceptional.
"Johns don't ask how old we are, unless they were looking for someone who was underage," she said.
"They never questioned our bruises, our broken bones.
"Johns being allies? I just don't see that. That's one case. I used to see between one and five guys a night and I was in it for 12 years. You do the math."
A detective with the human trafficking unit formed last October said reports generated by sites where escorts are advertised are common -- most based on young-looking photos alone but a few from johns saying a woman appeared to be underage or pimped -- and there have been several Crime Stoppers tips.
But Det.-Const. Chris Lavergne has yet to field a call from a client making those complaints, which can be anonymous.
"Is there a way to make Johns understand, you're not going to get in trouble for calling the police and giving us the information because at the end of the day this girl might be in trouble and you might save her," he said.
megan.gillis@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: @ottawasun_megan
Cops urge johns to speak up
http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/08/01/cops-urge-johns-to-speak-up
Could the johns buying their services really be "valuable allies" to those trafficked to sell sex?
That's the question posed by a report this week from human trafficking foes PACT-Ottawa after more than half of 104 local sex buyers they surveyed on backpage.com said they wouldn't have sex and would call police if they suspected coercion.
That jibes with research on more than 1,200 sex buyers by sociologist Chris Atchison, who calls them "probably the only people that are in the power position to actually report something if they did see it going on."
Of the less than one in 20 that had witnessed victimization, a third or two-thirds -- depending on whether the perpetrator was a "third party" or fellow client -- did something about it, most citing reporting to police.
Based on two decades studying the sex trade, Atchison thinks that the number of trafficked and coerced is small but that criminalizing johns who seek willing partners as new prostitution laws propose makes that less likely.
"You are a criminal -- any potential risk that they are going to be detected and arrested and outed, socially, is a risk that is too high for them," he said.
"We cut off a valuable resource for detecting and reporting abuses in the cases where they do occur."
Sextrade101 founder Natasha Falle, who says she survived being trafficked across Canada from her teens and now advocates for Bill C-36 , scoffs at the idea and calls instances where johns report trying to help -- like the notorious local case of teen girls pimping terrorized peers -- exceptional.
"Johns don't ask how old we are, unless they were looking for someone who was underage," she said.
"They never questioned our bruises, our broken bones.
"Johns being allies? I just don't see that. That's one case. I used to see between one and five guys a night and I was in it for 12 years. You do the math."
A detective with the human trafficking unit formed last October said reports generated by sites where escorts are advertised are common -- most based on young-looking photos alone but a few from johns saying a woman appeared to be underage or pimped -- and there have been several Crime Stoppers tips.
But Det.-Const. Chris Lavergne has yet to field a call from a client making those complaints, which can be anonymous.
"Is there a way to make Johns understand, you're not going to get in trouble for calling the police and giving us the information because at the end of the day this girl might be in trouble and you might save her," he said.
megan.gillis@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: @ottawasun_megan
With the new law, I would expect more of this to go on. When all the respectable clients quit the hobby for fear of criminal prosecution, who will be left as consumers? The only people left buying sex will be people with nothing to lose...Two men charged in attack on London escorts
http://www.lfpress.com/2014/08/07/two-charged-in-attack-on-escorts
Alleged attacks on three London escorts on the long weekend — police contend they were lured by a couple, assaulted, threatened and robbed — highlights the sharp divide over Canada proposed new prostitution law.
Opponents warn Bill C-36 would put sex trade workers at more risk for violence, but supporters say the London cases underline the benefits of criminalizing those who seek to buy sex.
“It’s safer for a woman to work in her own apartment, on her own time, where she knows what’s in her home — where the door is, where the phone is,” Naomi Sayers, a former sex worker and academic, said Thursday.
Founder of the Southwestern Ontario Sex Workers, a group opposed to the new federal legislation, Sayers warns the Conservative government’s law would compromise safety in the sex trade.
“If the bill passes, sex workers will continue to work,” she said. “But everything that lets them do it safely will be different and more difficult.”
London police allege a man and woman working together answered three different online escort ads, two on Sunday and one Monday, in each case asking for a meeting.
“When the escort attended, she was greeted by the couple, at which point she was robbed,” said Const. Ken Steeves.
“It’s very concerning because escorts, regardless of gender, go to places and meet with people who are not known to them. That in itself is a risk.”
The escorts reported to police, who arrested a man and woman Wednesday.
One woman had minor injuries.
“Safety is our No. 1 priority and we take all matters seriously, regardless of your lifestyle,” Steeves said.
Debate on Canada’s proposed prostitution law, tabled in June and drafted after the Supreme Court struck down the previous laws, is expected to resume when MPs return from their summer break in the fall.
New legislation must be on the books by December.
While Bill C-36 criminalizes the buying of sex, “Prostitution is inherently violent and this is an example of that,” said Megan Walker, executive director of the London Abused Women’s Centre and an outspoken advocate of the proposed law.
“Bill C-36 decriminalizes women and holds johns (men seeking to buy sex) accountable, (so) an escort can safely go to the police and the police can investigate,” she said.
“It doesn’t end with women reporting to police. They can get a referral and we can provide a safety plan. And for those women who choose to leave prostitution, we can provide an exit strategy.”
But Sayers and other opponents say criminalizing johns leads to hurried and hidden transactions, which prevent sex workers from any kind of screening of clients.
“The goal shouldn’t be to abolish prostitution but to protect the sex workers,” Sayers said.
Thomas Lako, 22, and Amar Youssef, 20, both of London, face several robbery, armed robbery, assault with a weapon and uttering threats charges.
Youssef faces additional uttering threats and possessing a prohibited weapon charges.
Both appeared in court Thursday.
THE 101 ON BILL C-36
What happened:
- The Supreme Court last December decided parts of Canada’s prostitution laws are unconstitutional because they violate the rights of sex workers. Ottawa has until December to pass new legislation.
Proposed new law:
- Called Bill C-36, it would criminalize clients — not prostitutes. Often called the Nordic Model. Sex workers can’t be prosecuted for advertising, but websites and publications can be.
- Opponents: Say it would force sex workers into the shadows, because clients don’t want to be charged.
- Proponents: Say that approach gives sex workers a better chance to leave the trade.
Of course, the study was reported by the government spin doctors. What did you think that they would say so as to not lose face?Norway's closely watched prostitution ban works, study finds
http://news.yahoo.com/norways-close...ban-works-study-finds-134956066--finance.html
OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's ban on buying sex has reduced human trafficking and has not increased violence against women, as some had feared, a study commissioned by the government said.
Following the example of its neighbor Sweden, Norway criminalized buying sex in 2009, but critics said the law would push prostitution underground, making women more vulnerable and increasing the likelihood of violence against them.
Nations like Finland, France and England have adapted a partial ban, making it illegal to buy sex from a person who was trafficked or pimped. Foreign governments have been carefully watching the effectiveness of the more comprehensive Norwegian and Swedish approach, which punishes buying but not selling.
"This report does not find any evidence of more violence against prostitutes after the ban on buying sex entered into force," said the report, which was published on Monday.
"The enforcement of the law, in combination with the laws against trafficking and pimping, makes Norway a less attractive country for prostitution-based trafficking than what would have been the case if the law had not been adopted," it said.
However, the lower demand has resulted in lower prices, a problem for prostitutes who often come from poor countries and have few other options to earn a living, the report said.
The nearly 200-page report is based on six months of research, including interviews with male and female prostitutes, police and support organizations.
The Norwegian law applies to all its citizens anywhere, making it illegal for Norwegians to buy sex even in countries where the activity is accepted.
Penalties for breaking the law are set by local municipalities. In Oslo, Norway's largest city, convicted sex buyers face a 25,000 crown ($4,000) fine.
Norway's ruling parties have favored relaxing the law, but said any proposal to change it would be dependent on this study, which would form the backbone of the government's planned white paper, a precursor to any change in the legislation.
"This report shows that the law clearly has contributed to a reduction of demand and volume of prostitution in Norway, which is what it was intended to do," said Steinar Stroem, a professor at the University of Oslo and one of the study's authors.
Street prostitution in Oslo, the country's biggest city, is down between 35 to 60 percent from before the ban, while the indoor market has shrunk by 10 to 20 percent, the report said.
(Reporting by Joachim Dagenborg; Writing by Balazs Koranyi; Editing Crispian Balmer)
Calls to Raise Minimum Age of Prostitutes to 21 in Germany
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/calls-raise-minimum-age-prostitutes-21-germany-1460576
Politicians in Germany have called for the laws on prostitution to be tightened to protect women being forced into sexual slavery.
Prostitution was legalised in Germany in 2002, and 400,000 people are now registered as sex workers in the country.
Under the laws, prostitutes working in Germany have full access to health insurance, and declare their earnings as freelancers in their annual tax returns.
But the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) want the minimum legal age of sex workers to be raised from 18 to 21, as experts estimate that thousands have been trafficked into the country and forced to work in brothels against their will.
They also want those punishments introduced for men who use women forced into prostitution, and for compulsory health checks to be introduced for sex workers, to protect their health.
According to police, 50 to 90 per cent of the country's prostitutes have been forced into the work against their will, with many having been transported in from countries in eastern Europe to work in hundreds of brothels across the country.
With the legalization of prostitution, a series of enormous 'mega brothels' have sprung up in Germany, some able to accommodate hundreds of customers at a time, offering a flat rate for unlimited sex, and spreading over several floors.
The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) rejected these suggestions on Friday as "counterproductive".
SPD deputy leader Carola Reimann said that the new rules may deter men coming forward with information on women who have been trafficked into the country, for fear of being prosecuted.
She also argued that if the proposals became law, women under 21 would be driven to work illegally without legal protection.
The Christian Social Union, the CDU's Bavarian sister party, attacked the SPD and the Green party for opposing attempts to more closely regulate prostitution.
"It was the [SPD and Greens'] prostitution law of 2002 that meant Germany became the brothel of Europe in the first place," CSU MP Max Straubinger told the Passauer Neue Presse on Friday.
The issue will be debated next week, at a meeting of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs.
Experts are currently being consulted for the draught bill, which will come before the German parliament in the Autumn.
Conservative thinking at it's finest...So that means they would allow SPs to work there because it's safer for them and they aren't doing anything illegal under Bill c-36 anyway but in the other hand Law enforcement are free to go there sometimes to arrest clients who come to visit licensed passage parlours whereas girls continue to work legally. Isn't this stupid ?
Not here in Toronto. LE has always been free to visit/inspect. Arresting clients would have to come with evidence/investigation of illegal activity. (ie: underage, drugs, etc).So that means they would allow SPs to work there because it's safer for them and they aren't doing anything illegal under Bill c-36 anyway but in the other hand Law enforcement are free to go there sometimes to arrest clients who come to visit licensed passage parlours whereas girls continue to work legally. Isn't this stupid ?
The cops just can't arrest everybody leaving an establishment, especially if it operates legally. There is the presumption of innocence. I understand that bylaw enforcement officers can enter any premises in order to check for bylaw compliance, but I'm not so sure that cops can do that without a warrant.So that means they would allow SPs to work there because it's safer for them and they aren't doing anything illegal under Bill c-36 anyway but in the other hand Law enforcement are free to go there sometimes to arrest clients who come to visit licensed passage parlours whereas girls continue to work legally. Isn't this stupid ?
I wouldn't say didn't care. Hard to police, expensive to investigate, costly to prove & prosecute. Bylaw don't havve the ability to charge for prostitution because no bylaw defines every sexual service. Cops can & could always charge for prostitution. They just don't because of what I listed above. However, I do know bylaw that find evidence of such relay those facts to police.Yes but previously LE enforcement didn't care about consensual sex between adults happening there , as you said they arrested only clients involved in underage or drugs., now with bill c-36 even sex purchase would become illegal.
Now how would it work after Bill c-36 passes ? allow licenced massage parlours to operate but arrest clients ? so you licence a massage parlour but then LE come to arrest someone for visiting a massage parlour that was licenced by the city ? how stupid is that .
So you license an establishment to entrap people ? It's like licensing a marijuana store and then arresting clients who go there.
Until we have the final draft of the bill, "sexual services" still remains an undefined anomaly. Yes, the biggest changes I foresee come in advertising, communication, etc. The smaller daily details.I recall a note from department of Justice that states that any lap dance involving body contact is considered a sexual service, so a naked body slide would be considered as sexual service.
So would they advertise therapeutic massage instead of erotic massage which would become illegal under bill c-36 ?
What it is aimed at is giving the authorities complete reign on who and when they can charge. It is specifically designed to reduce demand in an attempt to scare of the buyers.I wouldn't say didn't care. Hard to police, expensive to investigate, costly to prove & prosecute. Bylaw don't havve the ability to charge for prostitution because no bylaw defines every sexual service. Cops can & could always charge for prostitution. They just don't because of what I listed above. However, I do know bylaw that find evidence of such relay those facts to police.
Until we have the final draft of the bill, "sexual services" still remains an undefined anomaly. Yes, the biggest changes I foresee come in advertising, communication, etc. The smaller daily details.
It's very grey & confusing for Strip Clubs & Massage spas to know where theyy fall into this at this time. More definition is needed. Of course we offer an erotic massage experience within massage spas. A license isn't an exemption. That said, the target of the bill is on trafficking. Anywhere that is going on will be targeted. As long as they can find it. Frustrating isn't it?
Prostitution is not a charge in the canadian criminal code, but all the massage parlours could be charged under the bawdy house provision right now. It's not really used in Toronto but it could be and attitudes in policing are changing for the worse.I wouldn't say didn't care. Hard to police, expensive to investigate, costly to prove & prosecute. Bylaw don't havve the ability to charge for prostitution because no bylaw defines every sexual service. Cops can & could always charge for prostitution. They just don't because of what I listed above. However, I do know bylaw that find evidence of such relay those facts to police.
Until we have the final draft of the bill, "sexual services" still remains an undefined anomaly. Yes, the biggest changes I foresee come in advertising, communication, etc. The smaller daily details.
It's very grey & confusing for Strip Clubs & Massage spas to know where theyy fall into this at this time. More definition is needed. Of course we offer an erotic massage experience within massage spas. A license isn't an exemption. That said, the target of the bill is on trafficking. Anywhere that is going on will be targeted. As long as they can find it. Frustrating isn't it?
I'm not disagreeing with you, but that's not the focus. Its not gonna be a free for all of cops busting every tom dick & harry, or every spa strip club & agency. As far as my discussions with TPS/bylaw, have gone anyway. Grain of salt, because we are far from knowing what will be final when.What it is aimed at is giving the authorities complete reign on who and when they can charge. It is specifically designed to reduce demand in an attempt to scare of the buyers.
I was referring to the GTA.Prostitution is not a charge in the canadian criminal code, but all the massage parlours could be charged under the bawdy house provision right now. It's not really used in Toronto but it could be and attitudes in policing are changing for the worse.
When C36 is passed MPs could see criminal charges as any indoor venue providing a sexual service is unlikely to be able to operate legally. And some bylaws do define sexual services (saskatoon) while others ban touching outright (barrie).