Madam Speaker, it is a true honour to have this opportunity to speak to Motion No. 192 put forward by the hon. member for Vancouver East.
I would like to congratulate the member for Vancouver East for her sensitive approach to the complicated issues surrounding the sex trade. When a motion such as this, dealing with an extremely vulnerable segment of society, is before us, I believe it is incumbent upon us to take careful notice.
The motion, now with the amendment, calls on the House to order the justice committee to review the criminal law governing offences related to prostitution. The objective of this review, according to the motion, would be to better protect sex trade workers from exploitation and violence and to ensure the well-being of the communities around them.
My colleague, the hon. Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Justice, has already put forward his lucid support for the intent of the motion. It is a position that I share. Indeed, from a justice and law enforcement standpoint, there is every reason to continue refining and modernizing our laws so that the people who are already victims of very difficult circumstances are not further victimized by the justice system.
My colleague outlined the extensive committee work and Criminal Code amendments that have sought to focus criminal sanctions on the true targets: those who would harm and exploit sex trade workers.
However, I suggest to my colleagues in the House that there is another dimension to street solicitation that is equally important: the issue of the health and safety of sex trade workers. Ours is a society that cares deeply about the physical and mental well-being of all our citizens, particularly the most vulnerable. Surely we can agree that the women, the men and, most of all, the boys and girls who are trapped in the sex trade are among the most vulnerable of all.
This is an exceptionally dangerous line of work. At the extreme there are the chilling disappearances and slayings of so many sex trade workers in Vancouver and in other cities across Canada. Even under the more ordinary circumstances, prostitution is associated with physical violence, including rape, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies and often psychological abuse. Where there is prostitution, there is often drug and alcohol abuse, along with hepatitis and HIV infections that come from sharing contaminated needles. There is also the psychological burden of a business that is degrading, isolating and stigmatizing.
Permit me, Madam Speaker, to share with you and my colleagues in the House some sobering facts. Experts estimate that the sex trade in Canada generates some $400 million a year. Money is of course a powerful inducement, drawing prostitutes into danger that they might otherwise avoid. For example, it is not uncommon for sex trade workers to be paid a premium by their clients to engage in unprotected sex. Indeed, unprotected sex, in combination with multiple sex partners each year and the use of injection drugs, puts at extraordinary risk the health and safety of sex trade workers. Infectious diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and AIDS are growing increasingly common.
Sex trade workers who do not seek medical attention risk further complications. Even chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, which are readily treated with antibiotics, can develop into serious and sometimes even fatal conditions. Left untreated, sexually transmitted diseases also contribute to the spread of the deadly AIDS virus.
It is painful to contemplate these harsh realities for any Canadian living on the streets. It is unbearable to think that teenagers, even children, are engaged in such dangerous work, but they are.
Health Canada's “Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect”, the only national study of its kind, turned up 645 confirmed or suspected reports of child exploitation, which includes using children for pornography or prostitution. Released in 2001, the study was conducted in collaboration with provincial and territorial child welfare and social service agencies.
Health Canada's enhanced surveillance of Canadian street youth project shows that more than one-fifth of all our street youth report trading sex for money, food, shelter and drugs. This puts this very population at great risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and hepatitis. Girls and young women living on the street are particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and injection drug use.
Health Canada's division of sexual health promotion and STD prevention and control launched the project in 1998 to study this hard to reach population. The division is collaborating with governments at all levels as well as non-governmental organizations in an ongoing national surveillance effort to monitor the rates and risk factors for sexually transmitted diseases and hep B and hep C among street youths. These findings will help us better understand the correlations between sexual abuse, exploitation and disease.
Health Canada's centres of excellence for women's health program also generates new knowledge about the most vulnerable groups of women living in Canada. The program has produced several studies on the sex trade, its impact on the health of women and children and better ways to protect them.
For now though we should acknowledge that we do not have all the answers. There is much we do not know about why women, men and children turn to prostitution. In this as in any other population, we need to better understand the links between the health, gender and socio-economic circumstances of sex trade workers.
With a clear grasp on the factors that lead people into the trade, we can better help them get out and protect those who remain. There is therefore a need for more community based research on the sex trade. Solid knowledge would help inform public policy and improve the health and safety of sex trade workers.
This kind of research, if it is to be meaningful, must be broad based. It would have to consider a wide range of issues. It would also have to include federal, provincial and municipal departments and non-governmental organizations with an interest in women and children's health. Most of all it would have to include the sex trade workers themselves. Only they can describe the reality of life on the streets.
Canadians will not tolerate the exploitation of women and children. The government shares that view and is committed to protecting the health and safety of all Canadians, especially the most vulnerable members of our society. We will continue to work with our partners at all levels to address the needs of sex trade workers, to help those who want to leave the street and to protect those who wish to remain.
Prostitution is a complex problem. Its health impacts must be addressed on a variety of fronts. Those include occupational health and well-being, personal safety, risk behaviours and short and long term physical and mental health.
That means we need to work with our partners on appropriate and sensitive health services, community supports and social interventions. We also need the research and knowledge base to make sure we fully understand the problems and are doing the right things to help correct them.
Therefore, I support the intent of the motion before us. Should it be the will of the House, and I hope it will be, to order the justice committee to review the solicitation laws with an eye to enhancing the safety of sex trade workers and their communities, I would certainly support such an initiative. It is, after all, more than a matter of social justice and human rights. It is also a question of health.
I commend the member for Vancouver East for bringing the issue to the House.