Browsing by Author "Louie, Christine Gabrielle"

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    Legal change through a charter challenge: reforming Canada's prostitution laws
    (2012) Louie, Christine Gabrielle; Brannigan, Augustine
    Prostitution per se is not illegal in Canada, yet everything associated with the practice of prostitution is illegal. However, on September 28th, 2010, Justice Susan Himel of the Ontario Supreme Court decision struck down bawdy-house, living on the avails of prostitution, and communication provisions of the Canadian Criminal Code. Himel's judgement supported what Canadian researchers have long established, that the impugned provisions prevent prostitutes from taking precautions that can decrease the risk of violence toward them. This study examined the change to prostitution legislation by documenting the Charter process which led up to Himel's decision. The research involved interviews with the applicants in two separate court challenges as well as an analysis of published case material. The study argues that in order to minimize the harm while respecting the liberty of prostitutes, we need to move away from a strictly moral perspective to a harm reduction approach.