Kyle Rae: "They can lose their apartments, their belongings, their children"
Tuesday, March 15
These are Toronto City Councillor Kyle Rae's notes -- not the actual speech -- for his presentation this morning to the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws.
Kyle is an out gay politician, and since 1991 has represented Ward 27 (Rosedale, Summerhill, Yorkville, Church/Wellesley, East Downtown; from the Eaton Centre to Mt. Pleasant Cemetery).
Thank you for the opportunity.
Ward 27: 3 prostitution tracks: straight; gay; trans/sexual/vestite
In 2005, I do not speak on behalf of Toronto City Council. However, 10 years ago, in 1995, I could have been here before you speaking on behalf of council's position in favour of the decriminalization of prostitution.
I still support decriminalization for adults.
Rank & file officers usually refer to it as a nuisance which angers residents who witness solicitation and sex in their schoolyards, church yards, strip malls, front yards, back yards and garages.
The noise, the taunting, the bickering, the traffic, the garbage, and the leftovers of sex undermine the quality of life.
In Toronto, back in 1995, it was established that 80 percent of prostitution occurred in the home, not on the street.
The Internet, sex ads, and cell phones have radically changed the business.
Most of us in downtown Toronto who live in highrises are most likely sharing our buildings, our homes, with men and women in the business.
After 14 years representing this area of 60,000 people, I have received only one complaint from a highrise neighbour of someone thought to be involved in prostitution.
It surprises me that these men and women are prepared to risk being charged with bawdy house charges. Since these are an indictable offence, as keepers or found-ins they can lose their apartments, their belongings, their children. So working the streets helps protect your assets and family, but it's not safe. Current laws that draw men and women to the street to work must be changed.
The [federal government's] Fraser Report of the 1980s observed that groups of women sharing a location provided the kind of security and support that was missing.
The decriminalization of prostitution and solicitation would allow municipalities to regulate the business as other businesses are.
I support Nick Larsen's recommendations in Policy Options
1) Remove most prostitution-related offences from the Criminal Code and deal with them through regulatory statutes similar to those used to control other businesses (areas which might remain subject to criminal sanctions include pimping or patronizing juvenile prostitutes);
2) Repeal bawdy house provisions and permit prostitutes to work in certain locations with their activities regulated by already existing statutes (e.g. noise by-laws, etc.);
3) Empower provincial and municipal governments to establish legal prostitution areas under the same zoning laws as are used to regulate land use in general (tax concessions and compensations may be necessary for residents and businesses in designated areas); and
4) Establish prostitution committees at the municipal level with representatives from residents, business owners, police officials, politicians and most importantly from the sex workers themselves. These committees could monitor activities and attempt to resolve problems before they become serious.
Each context for development of prostitution control is unique and models must be developed in consultation with communities affected and with sex workers themselves, whose livelihood, indeed their lives, depend on the safety of their working conditions.
Gay men have been victims of prostitution and bawdy house laws due to police attitude.