This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. But the way proprietor Bobbi Davis tells it, almost everyone in Beatty, Nev. Some sex workers and advocates celebrated the decision, while others decried it. For many more Torontonians, it raised a number of alternative cityscapes, from a friendly neighbourhood brothel on every block to a single, seedy red-light district.
While neither of these scenarios is particularly likely, the city will experience no change at all for now. The bawdy-house ruling does not go into effect for a full year, giving Parliament time to draft new legislation. A majority of the panel also overturned a third part of the lower-court decision, deciding that soliciting sex work should remain unlawful.
In the meantime, experts recommend that local governments start studying their options. Aside from Nevada, where prostitution is legal in 10 mostly rural counties, a score of other jurisdictions have decriminalized some or all aspects of sex work, including New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany. One option is to create a red-light district by zoning one part of the city as the only place brothels can be licensed to operate.
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti created headlines last year when he suggested Toronto Islands might be a good location. On Monday, he said he wants the issue of a red-light district to come before council. City council has the power under the Planning Act to zone brothels, said city spokesperson Jackie DeSouza. It already gives out licences to strip clubs and body rub parlours. Cossman added that the prostitution occurring outside the district can be more empowering for workers. Emily van der Meulen, a professor of criminal justice and criminology at Ryerson University, agrees red-light districts are problematic.
Prostitutes now rely on occupational health and safety guidelines. State laws require sex workers to be screened for sexually transmitted infections weekly. But only a fraction of the prostitution that happens in Nevada is legalized — in other parts of the state, including Las Vegas, the sex trade is still illegal. By far, they are the experts. Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.
