We are encouraging all Canadians to send the following letter to their MP and/or MLA to encourage them to stand for women’s dignity, equality and to end the violence against women that prostitution is by adopting a version of the Nordic model of law tailored for Canada. It’d be fantastic to take the time to send in a handwritten letter or you can just print it off and mail it… Just do something!
It is free to send a letter to your MP and/or MLA and you can find your MP’s address at the Parliament of Canada website by just entering your postal code.
MP (insert name here)
I am writing to ask you to support the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA). As you are likely aware, on March 30, 2021, a constitutional challenge was filed not only to look at PCEPA but in fact all of Canada’s prostitution laws. Laws like recruitment, prohibiting sex buying, advertising, pimping and brothel owning all of these laws are aimed at those whose behaviour is parasitic and predatory in nature.
I support PCEPA’s approach, which makes the purchase of sex illegal in Canada, while those who are being prostituted are not subject to criminal charges. I ask you to urge the government to defend these laws because they are essential in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
PCEPA recognizes that prostitution is a form of exploitation and systemic violence against women as well as a significant barrier to equality between the sexes. It recognizes most individuals in prostitution are not there by way of freely given choice, but rather as a result of poverty, marginalization, racialization, abuse or other systemic issues. Payment to sexually access a women’s body is not a legitimate business. Sex should not be commodified as a solution to women’s poverty, inevitably that leads to exploitation and abuse.
It is essential that those who have been prostituted be provided with viable options and alternatives to exit and Canada must address the social conditions that drive individuals with heightened vulnerability to prostitution while also strengthening support services.
Buying sex is not and should not be inevitable in our society. It is not a right or behaviour enshrined in any Charter of Rights. There is no reason to cater to this exploitative behaviour. Research shows the most effective way to curb sexual exploitation and trafficking is to target the demand for paid sex. PCEPA is an effective and essential tool in fighting sexual exploitation and human trafficking while helping to create a safer country for all girls and women.