Trafficking In British Columbia
Why does sexual exploitation happen?
- Poor early emotional attachment experiences
- Abandonment, and or rejection
- Emotional, physical and sexual abuse
- Running away from home
- Dropping out of school
- Extreme vulnerability, desperation and hopelessness
- Seeking love and attention
- Survival sex
- Returning to their “normal” of abuse
- Average age of entry into prostitution: 12 -14 years of age
Why does it keep happening?
- Internet pornography – demand fuels supply
- The media and pop culture that glamorizes the abuse, rape and enslavement of girls and women
- Feelings of power, control and entitlement – “I paid for this”
What are the effects of prostitution?
- Prostitution facilitates the abuse, rape, and murder of women and girls. A study of prostitution in nine countries found that prostitution leads to threats, assault, and rape; results showed that 64 percent of respondents had been threatened with a weapon while in prostitution, 73 percent had been physically assaulted while in prostitution, and 57 percent had been raped while in prostitution
- 70% of women in prostitution have a clinical diagnosis of dissociation (compared to 1-2% in the general population)
- Prostitution leads to post-traumatic stress disorder: this study found that 68 % of respondents met the criteria for a diagnosis of the disorder (compared to 8.3% life time prevalence in the general population).
- Prostitution causes STDs and even localized STD epidemics.
- Prostitution leads to a much higher risk of suicide. One study found that 75 % of prostituted women had attempted suicide and that prostituted women comprised 15% of all completed suicides.
- 80% to 90% of those in prostitution experience verbal abuse and social contempt which adversely affect them.
- The answer to the question, “Why do prostitutes stay with their pimps?” is the same as the answer to the question, “Why do battered women stay with their batterers?” In order to survive captivity, humans bond with their abusers.
- Prostitution reinforces harmful cultural beliefs that females are a disposable commodity, and it further mires women and girls in already difficult economic situations.
- 85% to 95% of those in prostitution want to escape it, but have no other options for survival
Credits: Prostitution Research
How has Canada responded to prostitution?
- Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, received Royal Assent on November 6, 2014.
- Bill C-36 treats prostitution as a form of sexual exploitation that disproportionately impacts on women and girls.
- Aiming for the Nordic Model (adopted by Sweden, Norway and Iceland) this Bill:
- Decriminalizes those in the sex industry – to promote gender equality.
- Penalizes those who attempt to buy sex – as an attempt to curb demand.
- Provides support services to those wishing to exit.
- While critics say it harms (by pushing prostitution underground), countries where the Nordic Model has been adopted report less prostitution, sex trafficking, illegal brothels, and criminal activity, unlike in countries that have legalized/decriminalized prostitution