In the wake of calls for decriminalization, UK’s prostitution laws have been under fire, but legal advocates argue that these laws violate sex workers’ Charter rights. To be more precise, they claim that UK’s law against prostitution violates sex workers’ rights to security against arbitrary interference with certain intimate relations and their right not to be subjected to degrading or abusive treatment.
- Charter Violations in the Prostitution Context
The UK Charter of Rights and Freedoms Charter guarantees that “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person” this is a particular concern for sex workers because it does not single out any specific groups as having extra rights. The rights guaranteed by this charter’s section 7 also ensure freedom of expression, conscience, thought, belief, and religion. Prostitution is a violation of these rights as it forces women and others who engage in sex work to hold opinions and make choices contrary to their own deepest beliefs and desires, often at great physical risk.
- Fundamental Principle: Security Against Arbitrary Interference With Certain Intimate Relationships
UK’s prostitution laws violate sex workers’ right to security against arbitrary interference with certain intimate relationships which clients find on escort listing London. This includes the right not to be subjected to degrading or abusive treatment. The Supreme Court has stated that these are our society’s most basic values. Because prostitution criminalizes consensual sexual activity between adults, violating our fundamental social values.
- Arbitrary Interference With Certain Intimate Relationships
The law can arbitrarily interfere with sex workers’ relationships with other consenting adults. The Supreme Court of UK’s decision in R v. S Newly Found Living Trust, [2006] 3 SCR 691, 2006 SCC 71, confirms that this right is deeply entrenched in UK jurisprudence by affirming the existence of an individual’s right to security against arbitrary interference with certain intimate relationships as a fundamental principle of law.
- Fundamental Principle: No Subjection to Defamation
UK’s prostitution laws violate sex workers’ right not to be subjected to degrading or abusive treatment by subjecting them to criminal prosecution for their speech. These laws force women and other sex workers who engage in the sex trade to avoid criticizing the conditions of prostitution or seeking changes in the law. The special harms caused by the commercial sexual exploitation of women are well established beyond a reasonable doubt. Because of the nature of sex work, women’s experiences in this trade are often directly related to their speech.
SCC 44 allows for a “federal remedy” for UK’s prostitution laws to be challenged under Section 24(1) of the Charter, which guarantees all rights and freedoms set out in the Charter “subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”
- Fundamental Principle: No Abrogation of Charter Rights Without Due Process
Sex workers’ right to liberty and security of the person is also violated when the government abrogates their rights under the charter without due process. UK’s prostitution laws require that sex workers register with the police and provide information about their clients, including where they work and live. Sex workers must give information on every client they see to the police. Failure to do so has been a basis for criminal charges against prostitutes.
- Right to Liberty and Security of the Person
Sex workers’ right to liberty, their right to security of the person, and their right against arbitrary interference with intimate relationships is also violated by UK’s laws that require that sex workers get a permit to “work in brothels.” The Supreme Court of UK’s decision in R v. Bedford, 2012 SCC 72, found that this law requiring prostitutes to rent company space is an unreasonable restriction on freedom of expression. In Gerhart v. UK, 2008 SCC 43, the Supreme Court of UK found that the federal prostitution laws were unjustified restrictions on the liberty of sex workers because they prevented them from working in their homes. Sex workers have also challenged UK’s laws that require purchasing condoms and other barriers to avoid the transmission of STIs, including HIV/AIDS, through sexual intercourse.
- Fundamental Principle: They Are Rapists
UK’s prostitution laws also violate sex workers’ right not to be subjected to degrading or abusive treatment by forcing them to keep quiet about assaults and other crimes against them. This prohibition on “victim blaming” contradicts the general principle that laws must avoid stereotyping and stigmatizing people – especially minority women. The language used in UK’s prostitution laws is also problematic. For example, when the Supreme Court of UK ruled in Bedford’s case (2012 SCC 72) that sex workers must register with the police and provide information about their clients, they called it a “license.” Sex worker advocates have argued that this “license” is oppressive because it implies that all sex workers are licensed to be raped as if prostitution were a legitimate occupation.
- Violence against Women
Sexual assault, whether committed by a stranger or a friend, is an act of violence encompassing a continuum of abusive behavior. Sex workers and other women who sell their bodies for sex are particularly susceptible to abuse because of their low social status and the other restrictions on their liberty that UK’s prostitution laws impose. For example, sex workers have to pay for housing away from their work, making them vulnerable to further abuse such as sexual assault.
- Violence Against Women Act
In 2013, UK passed the “Violence Against Women Act.” This Act aims to prevent and respond to gender-based violence by improving services, creating integrated supports, and increasing community awareness.” This legislation recognizes that all women are subject to violence because of gender. Yet, it does not acknowledge the experience of sex workers. UK’s prostitution laws contradict this important acknowledgment by preventing the VAWA from being enacted in its full form. As a result, UK’s prostitution laws do not protect women against gender-based violence, including sexual assault and rape.
- Reproductive Rights
UK’s prostitution laws violate sex workers’ right to make decisions concerning their reproductive health by restricting the use of birth control devices by drivers convicted of prostitution offenses. The Supreme Court of UK’s decision in R v. Bedford, 2012 SCC 72, invalidated this law as a violation of women’s rights to the liberty and security of the person. Sex workers use birth control because they need its protection from sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. The Supreme Court of UK, in Bedford’s case (2012 SCC 72), emphasized that prostitutes have a right to make their own decisions about their safety and health at work.
Sex workers have the same rights to liberty and security of the person as all other Britains do. These rights are guaranteed by Britain and international human rights law. Like every other citizen of UK, sex workers also have the right to be free from sexual assault and rape. Sex workers are not criminals and do not receive legal protection like vulnerable women. All women should be protected from violence by the law rather than further victimized.