I will be brief. Under the same protocol, the U.N. Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, which was ratified by Canada, the question of consent for the purposes of defining a victim of trafficking is not relevant. That idea is constantly being put forward by those who defend the sex work perspective, but the Convention does not subscribe to that notion of consent and does not define trafficking on that basis.
Furthermore, what does “consent” really mean? The average age for entering the world of prostitution in Canada is 14. It is even younger in Third World countries. Can there be consent at the age of 14? The most recent study of prostitutes in Vancouver revealed that 95 per cent of them would like to get out of prostitution, if they could. The same study was conducted in Quebec, where the rate was 92 per cent.
The problem we have here in Canada is that there is no service available to prostitutes who want to stop turning tricks. There is nothing available to assist them or help them complete their high school education because, of course, most of them who began at the age of 14 never completed high school. That being the case, they continue to work in the sex industry simply because it provides them with an income. When you haven't got a high school diploma, what kind of income can you expect to earn in the labour market? Is that consent? There is no economic, social or other constraint.
I just want to remind you that 80 per cent of prostitutes in Canada begin turning tricks when they are still minors. That also applies to prostitutes in Thailand and elsewhere. As a result, the question of consent is not relevant.