Canadian Occupational Safety

December/January 2017 25 Code to create an offence that pro- hibits receiving a material benefi t from sex work. This would result in up to 10 years in prison, if the benefi t was from an adult providing the sexual ser- vices. This is essentially the same as the previous "living off the avails of pros- titution" law that was struck down in Bedford. While the purpose of the law was to "target pimps and the parasitic, exploitative conduct in which they engage," the law actually punished "everyone who lives off the avails of prostitution without distinguishing between those who exploit prosti- tutes and those who could increase the safety and security of prostitutes, for example, legitimate drivers, managers or bodyguards," McLachlin wrote in her decision. This would hold true for the PCEPA provision as well. It also punishes anyone involved in business with a sex worker, such as accountants or receptionists. Both of these provisions — pur- chasing sexual services and receiving a material benefi t from sex work — essen- tially make it illegal to run a bawdy house, despite the fact that this is widely accepted as one of the safest ways to conduct sex work. The Bedford decision noted that bawdy houses improve pros- titutes' safety by providing "proximity to others, familiarity with surroundings, security staff, closed-circuit television and other such monitoring that a per- manent indoor location can facilitate." The court noted that preventing sex workers from working in a safe indoor location is "grossly disproportion- ate to the deterrence of community disruption," also noting that "Parlia- ment has the power to regulate against nuisances, but not at the cost of the health, safety and lives of prostitutes." Since the escort agency Jade was working for closed after PCEPA came into force in 2014, she operates alone and says she is more at risk than ever before. "I worked with agencies because it afforded me greater safety. Callers are aware that there is a driver with you and that you are part of a network of people who know exactly where you are. That's why being able to work in groups is so important, but it's illegal under current laws," she says. According to Amnesty International, "working in isolation places sex work- ers in a vulnerable situation at risk of robbery, physical assault and rape." The purchasing of sex and material benefi t provisions also eliminate the ability to have "safe houses" where street-level sex workers — the most vulnerable — can take their clients. The Bedford decision noted that safe houses for some prostitutes may be critical. For example, around the same time as convicted serial killer Robert Pickton was preying on prostitutes in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, a safe house called Grandma's House was established, only to be shut down. "A law that prevents street prosti- tutes from resorting to a safe haven such as Grandma's House while a suspected serial killer prowls the streets is a law that has lost sight of its purpose," McLachlin wrote in the Supreme Court decision. Maud, a street-based sex worker who participated in research by POWER (Prostitutes of Ottawa-Gatineau Work Educate & Resist), says a safe place to take clients would increase safety. "Then they could also monitor a little. Girls are missing and get beat up and we still haven't found them years later. Nobody has a clue where they are," she says. "We need a place where we can go." Another amendment in PCEPA is around communication. The act not only says it is an offence to communicate in any place for the purpose of purchasing sexual services, it also expressly prohibits such communication in a public place (or place that is open to public view) that is next to a school ground, playground or daycare centre. The issue of communication in a public place was already struck down in the Bedford decision and McLachlin said it prevented prostitutes from screening potential clients for intoxication and propensity to violence. She said this was a "grossly disproportionate response to the possibility of nuisance caused by street prostitution." The decision noted face-to-face communication for screen- ing is "an essential tool" for enhancing the safety of street prostitutes. "(It's about) allowing the sex trade worker himself or herself to have con- trol. To be able to say yae or nay, to have an open public space where they can call for help, where they can accept or reject a client," says Mandin. It also allows the sex worker to negotiate services, set boundaries and establish fees. But the new communication laws in PCEPA have the continued effect of dis- placing sex workers to more secluded, less secure locations, says Mandin. "Find me a place in downtown Toronto that doesn't have a school, park or child. What they are doing is forcing this work… into the dark spaces, alley- ways, literally the underground." Another amendment from the exploited persons act is creating an offence that prohibits the advertise- ment of sexual services. This means sex workers are using a lot of euphe- misms and not really explaining what services they offer, which ultimately creates a health and safety issue, says Jenn Clamen, co-ordinator of the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform, a group of 28 sex worker rights and allied groups based in 17 cities across Canada. "When you are not able to openly and adequately advertise and speak to Sex workers face increased safety risks since Bill C-36 passed 2 years ago. Working alone, fear of police, inability to properly screen clients now the norm

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