If ever there was a topic most debated, it is prostitution. Beliefs about it vary greatly, from one end of the spectrum to the other, and they vary within provinces and across countries. In Canada, each province has the autonomy to administer the federal law and justice system how it sees fit, which is often driven by the ruling political party at the time. And furthermore, you may find that within one province, the various municipal and/or provincial policing agencies have different mandates when it comes to enforcing prostitution laws and choosing subjects to target. All of this adds to the complexity of supporting “the best” idea to address prostitution.
Prostitution involves two specific and symbolic domains of society—sexual relations and economics—and since these domains are highly gendered, the female prostitute or sex worker has long represented a troubling figure, disrupting what are traditionally deemed to be natural gender binaries (males should be active whereas females should be passive; economics is in the public domain whereas sexual relations is relegated to the private arena). Often simultaneously viewed as an inevitable feature of all human societies, prostitution is held to meet the supposedly powerful and biologi- cally given sexual impulses of men. Thus it is sometimes described as a “necessary evil” and considered to protect the virtue of “good” girls and women by “soaking up” excess male sexual urges which would otherwise lead to rape and marital breakdown (O’Connell-Davidson, 2007).
Take what you will from such dichotomies, there remain a variety of ideas and positions about prostitution and this chapter will introduce you to some of the ideas that currently consume the literature. What is presented here is overly succinct but the intent is to provide you with factual information so that you may contribute to the recurring and robust debate.
