The Supreme Court of Canada has struck down federal prostitution laws, deciding that bans on street soliciting, brothels and people living off the avails of prostitution create severe dangers for vulnerable women and therefore violate Canadians’ basic values.

 

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, writing for a unanimous court, stressed that the ruling is not about whether prostitution should be legal or not, but about whether Parliament’s means of controlling it infringe the constitutional rights of prostitutes.

 

The court cited specific harms caused by each of the three laws. The ban on brothels prevents prostitutes from working in safer indoor locations, and is “grossly disproportionate to the deterrence of community disruption.” The law against living off the avails of prostitution is intended for pimps, but also bans “legitimate drivers, managers, or bodyguards. . .  accountants or receptionists.” The ban on street soliciting is intended to take prostitution out of public view to prevent nuisance, but endangers prostitutes by preventing them from weeding out dangerous clients, and is therefore grossly disproportionate to its purpose, the court said.

 

The court suspended its ruling for one year to give Parliament time to respond. The Conservative government could still enact new laws that make prostitution and related offences criminal activities, but they would have to abide by the Court's guidelines.