Residents call on mayor to see that arrests start being made under anti-prostitution Bill C-36
The B.C. Catholic
Protestors and signs with bold slogans like “No Paid Rape” filled the front steps of Vancouver city hall June 14.
More than 100 people participated in the protest against prostitution and human trafficking, hoping to grab the attention of passersby, local police, and the mayor.
“We recognize that prostitution is violence against women. We reject the idea that men are entitled to women’s bodies,” said Jindi Mehat of Creating John-Free Communities.
The coalition includes crisis centres as well as aboriginal, Asian, and women’s groups against prostitution.
“We refuse to let pimps and johns exploit women and girls in our communities, and we demand that our city and our police act.”
Paying for sex has been illegal in Canada since December 2014, when the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, Bill C-36, became law.
That law criminalized those who buy sex, recruit prostitutes, and benefit from human trafficking, rather than going after the prostitutes themselves.
“That last part is crucial because it assigns responsibility for prostitution where it belongs: with the men who choose to buy and sell women,” rather than the women who turn to prostitution because of coercion or economic desperation.
“The Vancouver Police Department has a tool it could use to hold these exploitive men accountable, to keep them away from marginalized women and girls, and out of our neighbourhoods, but they haven’t,” said Mehat.
Many protestors decried the force’s inaction in enforcing that law, holding signs like “No more tricks, enforce C-36,” and “Honk if you think the VPD should do its job.”
The police department has said arresting johns is not a priority for them.
“Criminal law alone won’t end male violence against women, but women deserve protection and men must be held accountable for their actions,” said Bella Margolles of Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter.
That organization operates a women’s shelter and a 24-hour crisis line that receives more than 1,000 calls a year.
“Many of the calls we receive are from women who have experienced prostitution, and the message we receive is: given the choice, they would not be prostituted at all and would like to live freely, without the threat of violence.”
Mary-Lee Bouma, a member of the anti-trafficking group Resist Exploitation Embrace Dignity, took a megaphone to criticize the mayor, who is also chairman of the police board.
“Mayor Robertson has done nothing in Vancouver to offer vulnerable women the protection of Canada’s federal legislation,” despite the fact that he signed documents in 2009 and 2015 recognizing prostitution as violent and exploitive, she said.
“Let’s call on Mr. Mayor to honour his commitments, to keep his promises.”
During the rally, Robertson was in a meeting in city hall. Protestors asked to be let inside to personally deliver 110 signed letters, and about 40 of them stuck around until the doors opened for them during a recess one hour later.
A video filmed in city hall and posted on Facebook shows Robertson’s response: “We’re waiting to see what (the federal government) is going to do. They did signal there will be some changes” to Bill C-36.
The mayor did not respond to an interview request by press time.
