First - it wasn't lawyers who arrived at this conclusion for the new laws. It was politicians. They decided what they wanted and in their mind - the sale of sex would go down and thereby exploitation of sex workers if men, the perpetrators of that exploitation, were the ones who were criminalized.
Second - Bedford got the laws changed because the previous laws went against her rights granted to her by the Charter of Rights. Which is basically the only way, besides direct request and support from the government (like the decriminalization of weed) to get laws changed again. And for men - you have no Charter of Rights to fall back on. Purchasing sex or sex itself is not a right so you have no way to challenge the laws. That is why I said that. Being ripped off doing something illegal, even in a group, is not going to get the laws changed again. Especially when so many believe that sex workers are exploited.
This is why escorts protested for decriminalization. Why so many wrote letters, spoke at government readings, etc. because we didn't want men criminalized. We knew what would happen. We knew because of what we already went through. But thank the PC government. They, as conservatives, could never have had it go any other way.
great explanation about the sentiment back then. Aah as always the politicians, they always got to keep us divided, fix it for one side and screw it for the other.
Yea, I understood your sentence 'Purchasing sex or sex itself is not a right ' you pay for the escort's time.... pre 2014, neither SW nor johns could go to the police if they were exploited. Providers couldnt go to the police even if there was violence or rape or any other force involved...And what happened in 2014 was for the better. Even now I see sometimes, providers have reviews where the hobbyist while inquiring, expected sex or some other acronym for the duration of a session, but on arrival they dont necessarily have to get all those expectations met.... its upto a provider's discretion and vibes you get if you as a provider want to partake or not; and its common sense for the hobbyist not go further or exert force, else is borderline rape, though consent can be argued.
Not sure if Im intellectualizing this a little too much, but I do feel it was looked at as a man vs woman thing back then, and this hobby really isnt just about that. The 2 sides of this world are
hobbyists (which can be men, woman, trans and other genders) and
providers (also can be men, woman, trans and other genders).
If it were to be tested today, it essentially is that providers (whether they have status or not in Canada) have agency to go to Law enforcement and get their justice, its a travesty that most trafficked providers don't even know this. Hobbyists, well if youre ripped off (by ripped off I mean blatant robbery, money changed hands and provider scrammed or took your valuables forcefully or any other sort of physical violence )
you have no recourse.