SEX WORK TOOLKIT

In December 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada (Canada v. Bedford) struck down all three sections of the Criminal Code that outlawed prostitution, on the grounds that the laws violated sex workers’ right to security of the person. In other words, the laws prevented sex workers from employing precautions that would increase their safety on the job. The Court gave the government one year to make new laws.

Enacted in December 2014, The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) makes it a crime to:

• purchase sex;
• communicate for the purpose of purchasing sex;
• habitually keep the company of or benefit materially from a sex worker, unless you are in a legitimate family or business relationship, provided you can prove that you are not forcing or encouraging the sex worker to sell sex; you are not involved together in a commercial sex enterprise; and you are not providing alcohol or drugs;
• work or communicate near schools, playgrounds, and day-care centres;
• advertise sex services provided by anyone but the sex worker, and their advertising must not explicitly offer sex for sale.

Additionally, the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) are a set of regulations that were passed in 2002 that impact im/migrant sex workers. Sections 183(1)(b.1), 196(a), 200(3)(g.1) and 203(2)(a) of the IRPR make it illegal for temporary residents of Canada to engage in sex work. If they do, they risk arrest, detention, and/or deportation. This means that even if migrants were working in sex work in the country they im/migrated from, they cannot do so in Canada. And, if sex work was decriminalized in Canada, im/migrants would still be criminalized for working in the sex industry. To read more about how this leads to increased levels of violence for im/migrant sex workers, please visit SWAN Vancouver’s resources here. 

To learn more about how various legal frameworks about sex work, including Canada’s laws, impact sex workers, check out Living in Community’s online training here. 

Municipal and provincial governments do not have jurisdiction over regulating sex work, although some of their laws and policies affect places where sex work takes place. To learn more about tools municipal and provincial governments have (including laws, bylaws, policies, funding, and more), click here to learn more about our advocacy work.

 

The Role of Law Enforcement 

Law enforcement – police and RCMP -  are the main bodies that enforce the laws that govern sex work. Across BC, this is carried out by various municipal police forces and RCMP detachments.

 

Vancouver Police Department – Sex Work Enforcement Guidelines 

The work of the VPD in regards to sex work is guided by their Sex Work Enforcement Guidelines which were adopted by the Vancouver Police Board in January of 2013 and direct police officers to not harass, target, arrest, or intimidate sex workers. 

In part, the Guidelines state that “[t]he VPD does not seek to increase the inherent dangers faced by sex workers, especially survival sex workers. Therefore, where there are nuisance related complaints against survival sex workers, alternative measures and assistance must be considered with enforcement a last resort.” While some activities related to sex work are illegal, anybody is free to stand in public spaces, such as in front of businesses, at bus stops or on sidewalks. If you have concerns or think your business is being affected, see Tools for Residents and Businesses.

BC Association of Chiefs of Police – Sex Work Enforcement Guidelines 

In 2017, the BC Association of Chiefs of Police adopted enforcement guidelines similar to the VPD’s to guide police responses to sex workers in different communities across the province. These guidelines require police officers to prioritize sex worker safety over law enforcement.

These Guidelines state that “[w]here police receive nuisance-related complaints concerning sex work activity, and especially in cases involving persons involved in survival sex work or who are exploited, consideration will be given to whether enforcement, alternative measures, or assistance is the best response to both keep sex workers safe and mitigate community concerns.”

 

Sex Workers’ Experiences with Policing 

In 2024, Living in Community held a consultation with organizations we work with about sex workers' experiences with policing in BC. In total, we heard from 66 participants representing sex-working communities from across BC via an online survey and three live group sessions.

Participants came with a diverse range of identities, experiences, perspectives about policing, work experience in the industry, and places they are based in.

Of the 45 survey participants: 

• 44% said they do not feel safe going to police for support 
• 10% said they have rarely seen a positive or helpful outcome from police, and have more often experienced stigma, harassment, or feeling dismissed
• 8% said they would access police if they had to, but it would not be their first choice
• 8% said they had good experiences accessing police services 

When asked about Sex Work Enforcement Guidelines in the survey: 

• 66% of respondents said the Guidelines have not improved safety for sex workers 
• 15% thought the Guidelines sometimes helped privileged sex workers 
• 15% said they did not know about the Guidelines 

Participants recommended: 

• required competency training for officers before promotions (33% of survey respondents) 
• more sustainable relationships with Liaison Officers (24% of survey respondents) 
• reallocation of police budgets to community services, including peer-led initiatives (16% of participants) 

Learn more about the results and recommendations that came out of this project here.