Courting danger

KINGSTON – Last September, Justice Susan Himel of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice struck down three provisions in Canada's Criminal Code: living off the avails of prostitution; keeping a common bawdy house; and communicating in a public place for the purpose of engaging in prostitution. "These laws," wrote Justice Himel, "individually and together, force prostitutes to choose between their liberty interest and their right to security of the person as protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms." MP Libby Davies, the NDP representative in Parliament for Vancouver East, agrees it's time for "an intelligent discussion" about the decriminalization of sex work, rather than continuing to sweep it under the rug.