Is Prostitution a Women’s Right? Should it be legal?

One of the most controversial issues currently facing Canadians concerns the legal status of consensual adult prostitution. 

From a neo-conservative perspective, both the buying and selling of sexual services would be criminalized. This is the law in the United States, with the exception of parts of Nevada. However, from a feminist perspective, pro-sex feminists declare that sex-work can be a positive experience for women who have employed themselves to make an informed decision to involve in prostitution. 

The legalization of prostitution involves the regulation and licensing of consensual adult prostitution in brothels or other venues. For example, in Nevada prostitution is a criminal offence apart from in 10 rural counties where brothel prostitution is permitted and controlled. The acceptance and decriminalization of prostitution would remove all references to adult prostitution from the Criminal Code. It would be structured as other common businesses are, and how other civil laws are, rather than creating a specific system of prostitution regulation and licensing. 

Some Canadians take a stance arguing against it for the reasons that it further objectifies women, associates them with crime and corruption, results in trafficking, disease and rape and slavery. While Canadians who are pro-legalization state that it is a woman’s right to choose what she does, it further oppresses women, it presents inequality since the women are more often punished than the Johns, it will reduce the prevalence of rape and the trafficking of women, and they believe that force and mistreatment can only be stopped if the legal and social rights of prostitutes are guaranteed.

- Alexandra 

References:

Top 10 Pros and Cons - Prostitution - ProCon.org. (n.d.). Prostitution ProCon.org -- Should prostitution be legal?. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from http://prostitution.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000115

O’Doherty, T. (n.d.). EBSCO Publishing Service. Criminalization and Off-Street Sex Work in Canada. Retrieved November 15, 2012, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a163dba0-1f2d-4d3d-9d3e-01e32b35e757%40sessionmgr15&vid=4&hid=104

Violence Towards Aboriginal Women - Pre Contact

           Before contact with the Europeans, women of Aboriginal cultures were considered to be equal with men. Aboriginal women actually held most of the political and social power. They also held the responsibility of passing the teachings they had learned onto their daughters. One of the most negative consequences of the Aboriginals making contact with the Europeans was the degrading attitude towards Aboriginal women. As a result of this negative mind-set was that there were assaults committed upon these women. Europeans viewed the role of women very differently compared to the Aboriginals. The ideals and views that they possessed prevailed because if the rising power of Europeans in North America.

At this time, the average life-span for an Aboriginal person living in Canada has proven to be much lower than the rest of the population and the birthrate appears to be much higher. This will have tremendous consequences for society unless the appropriate steps are taken to make sure that the problems that have been created because of the many years of oppression are addressed and dealt with appropriately.

Intimate violence is defined as ‘any and all forms of maltreatment committed in relationships of intimacy, trust and dependence’ (Platform for action 1995)

There is a story that I came across, that told of a woman that had been subject to intimate violence since very early childhood. Her name cannot be revealed for safety reasons. She is 33 years old and was born and raised on a prairie farm. She does not have a high school diploma and her annual income is under $10,000. During her childhood, she witnessed the abuse of other women, including her mother. In the course of her life, she has lived with two abusive partners. One of which she became involved with in her mid-teens. She was the victim of abuse from her family members and neighbours. Most emotional and physical abuse came from her mother and sexual abuse came from a male relative. For some of the time, she did not know that what was being done was wrong and even thought she deserved it. When she got older she was embarrassed by her partner and was often beaten by him, sometimes in front of her children.

These acts of violence brought her into the contact of the police and the criminal justice system. The man pleaded guilty and was given and short sentence. This was enough time for her to safely begin her new life, but in no way makes up for all the pain that he caused her.

 

-Helen

 

 

 

References

McGillivray, A., & Comaskey, B. (1999) Black Eyes All of the Time: Intimate Violence, Aboriginal Women and the Justice System

The Domestic Violence Action Plan for Ontario – A Social Democratic Ideology Perspective

 As we are all aware, violence against women is a serious human rights and social issue. For many, ‘home’ is where families face a regime of terror and violence. Their human rights are denied and their lives are stolen from them. In 2004, the provincial government developed an action plan to tackle domestic violence and to improve equality for women.

It is stated that “the root causes of violence against women are societal, and the solutions lie ultimately in changing values about equality between men and women. While women in Canada have made great strides in recent decades, women and their children are still the primary victims of domestic violence.”

A quote from the premiere:

 “Our government is committed to protecting women and children from domestic violence. We believe that women and children have the right to live free from fear and violence.” – Dalton McGuinty 

     The Domestic Violence Action Plan for Onatrio is a project formed by the McGuinty government to “provide a balanced approach that strengthens community supports to better protect victims, focus on public education, early intervention and prevention strategies to help reduce domestic violence, and to strengthen the justice system response” (Domestic Violence Action Plan for Onatrio, 2012). 

     The plan includes millions in funding to provide better supports for victims by: 

• training front line workers and professional
• better counseling services and transitional housing supports
• major public education and prevention campaigns
•  improvement to Ontario’s criminal and family justice system to better protect women and children and to progress equality.      

This plan is putting a focus on preventing violence against women from happening in the first place by changing attitudes and behaviors, and instead of using a mainstream approach they are targeting approaches to meet diverse needs. (Francophone, aboriginal, ethnocultural/racial, people with disabilities, rural/farm/northern, seniors). 

Recently, the minister responsible for women’s issues Laura Broten released a progress report and identified that the government has reaffirmed their commitment to end violence and to promote equality for women by launching “Ontario's Sexual Violence Action Plan”, a four-year strategy that involves 15 million dollars in funding.

      I hope with this being presented we can all become more educated and competent to help prevent and confront violence/inequality against women.

  

       Alexandra

References:

Transforming our communities. (n.d.). Ontario Women's Directorate. Retrieved November 13, 2012, from

 http://www.women.gov.on.ca/english/resources/publications/dvap2012/report.shtml

Domestic Violence Action Plan for Ontario. (n.d.). Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from www.women.gov.on.ca/owd_new/english/resources/publications/dvap/dvap.pdf

HIV/AIDS: A rising concern amonst Aborignal Women

Finding out you are positive for HIV or Aids can be shattering, and there is growing concern amongst Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal AIDS service providers that HIV will continue to overwhelm young Aboriginal women who already face multiple levels of discrimination (Meharbadi et al., 2007). 

 

Recent studies today can confirm that there is a significant rise in the transmission of HIV/AIDS amongst aboriginal women in Canada. Statistics indicate that aboriginal women constituted 49.6 percent of newly diagnosed HIV cases, while non-aboriginal women comprised 20 percent of newly diagnosed (Judith & Norton, n.d.). In conjunction, “one third of new positive HIV test reports amongst aboriginal persons represented those under 30, as compare to a quarter non-Aboriginals. Approximately 60 percent of new infections amongst these young Aboriginal people were attributable to injection drug use, significantly higher than amongst non-Aboriginal young people” (Meharbadi et al., 2007 pg. 160).

More than half of Canada’s Aboriginal population live in urban areas, and despite the growing numbers, urban Aboriginal people in Canada continue to earn far less than the median average for non-urban counterparts (Benoit, Carroll, & Chaudhry, 2003). These urban Aboriginal people also tend to have “comparitavely higher rates of homelessness, greater housing needs and higher rates of suicide and are at particular risk of substance abuse, contracting tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS” (Benoit et al., 2003).

 When we take a look at Canadian history; residential schooling, colonization, assimilation, racism, loss of culture, etc,  these events have resulted in raised social problems amongst Aboriginal demographic leaving the population more vulnerable to alcohol abuse, drug abuse, violence, and high suicide rates (Ship, & Norton, n.d). During interviews with Inuit women in Montreal who worked as sex trade workers, and were at a higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS; there was a correlation made between  moving to urbanized areas to escape sexual abuse, residential schooling, colonization, and assimilation (Ship, & Norton, n.d).  It has been noted that vulnerability to HIV risk often has more to so with “social and environmental factors such as stigma, poverty, discrimination, sexism, and racism than with individual behavior” (Ship, & Norton, n.d). Therefore, when trying to understand how HIV/AIDS impacts Aboriginal women it is crucial to evaluate the negative reciprocal affects that European contact and colonization has caused.

There is prevelant data that indicates that "many Aboriginal people, especially those residing in urban areas are placed at greater risk of falling through the cracks of the Canadian health care system and social security net".(Benoit et al., 2003). The United Nations Commitee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) have articulated great concerns considering the provincial cut backs, and the closure of services on the health and well-being of marganalized populations, particularily aborinal women (Meharbadi et al., 2007). 


Cassandra

References:

Cecilia Benoit., Dena Carroll., & Munaza Chaudhry. (2003). In search of a Healing Place: Aboriginal women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Social Science & Medicine (56), 821-833.
           Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com

Azar Mehrabadi., Kevin J.P Craib., Katharina Patterson., Warner Adams., Akm Moniruzzaman., Barbara Ward- Burkitt., Martin T. Schechter., & Patricia M. Spittal. (2008). A Cedar Project: A comparison of HIV-related vulnerabilities amongst young Aboriginal women surviving drug use and sex work in two Canadian cities. Internation Journal of Drug Policy. (19) 159-168.
           Retreived from https://www.sciencedirect.com

Susan Judith Ship., & Laura Norton. (n.d). HIV/AIDS and Aboriginal Women in Canada. (21), 25-31.
            Retrieved from https://www.yorku.ca

 

 

Abortion: A Social Issue Instead of A Personal Decision.

            When you are asked to think about a social policy, generally you think of the positive things that should arise from them. You think of all of the areas in a community that will better from them. You also think of the people that are at loss because of the deficits they experience in society. We are all aware that social policy is intended to improve social welfare and help individuals meet their needs to function as a successful individual. However, what happens when a social policy creates deficits, creates more barriers, and creates an unsuccessful path for someone? What then, is the point of a social policy?

In this blog entry, I am going to discuss abortion. I am aware that this topic is touchy for some, and I am aware that some people are very dominant in their stance on the subject and I would like to make it clear, before I begin to blog about it, that this blog isn’t meant to offend anyone or cause any personal distress. Please accept my apologies in advance if any emotional distress does arise. I simply chose this current topic because I found its relevance to the women’s group I am apart of comparable to no other.

Abortion is a social issue for women because it is a stigmatizing and challenging experience to go through. Some women are forbidden to go through it, some women are scared to go through it, and some women attempt to go through it but then cannot because it ends up being too late. These reasons alone are enough for it to be a social issue that women are unfortunately faced with. The elaboration of these issues only makes the issue more difficult for women.  

Did you know that not all hospitals perform abortions? Only certain hospitals perform abortions in certain areas. This is limiting for women. Did you know doctors aren’t taught how to perform an abortion in their training? Doctors, who chose to be able to perform them, are required to take courses in order to be certified. This is also limiting for women. I am from a small city, in which will be used to put into perspective how limiting this can be for women. In a city like Sault Ste. Marie, women aren’t always able to access abortion clinics when they need to. This is because the doctor who performs abortions is here on schedule and the doctor's schedule doesn’t always work with every individual. This is also limiting because if the woman is unable to meet with the doctor before it is too late to perform an abortion, she will need to take another path in order to pursue her decision, which can be extremely costly. This can be costly because of travel expenses and because other doctors schedules not coinciding with theirs. In the end this can lead to the woman with no other option than to have the child.   

Recently the subject of abortion has re-opened and it has been in discussion in the House of Commons. As stated by Niki Ashton, the issue of abortion was settled in 1988 and is still in conflict, which is a clear representation of the gender gap that still exists in our society. Women are still persevering in becoming equal with their male counterparts and the issue of abortion is only a minor set back. Violating right of choice, and the right of reproductive choice is only a temporary set back in my eyes.

With the past being proactive the future should only become more than the past was. Although it seems were working the opposite way we should be, many voices are speaking in attempt to remove unfair ceilings of women’s rights. Quoted from an article I read, “National News-paper Index, the press produces more articles on how the abortion question affects various political candidacies and parties than on how woman with unwanted pregnancies are affected by growing restrictions on abortion services.” (p. 700) I think this is one of the better arguments I’ve heard on the topic of abortion because the issue has become more popularity based than restriction based. A woman’s life is what we are debating about. No matter the reason, the causation, or the circumstance, at the end of the day the woman making the decision will decide based on what is right for her own situation. In an online news article I read Patrick Crane stated, “It is a medical decision between the physician and the patient. It should be left there as all abortions should be.” and that “Any woman can choose an abortion for any reason, and she doesn’t have to tell us what it is. It’s none of our business.” This idea is what I would like to end this entry with. At the end of the day, the woman has the right to decide what is best suited for herself. We aren’t aware of her story and nor should we be. Having a child is a very personal part of life and it should not be a decision made by anyone but a woman herself.

Social policy is formulated to better society and the individuals within. If we set boundaries in giving women the right to choose what is best for her life, then we aren’t bettering the society at all. Women live with restriction as it is and forcing a woman to have a child without her being at her full potential to proceed with the responsibility of a healthy pregnancy followed by proper care for a child is without question a decision that can only be made by the one having to live with the repercussions.  

Geraldine

References:

Crane, Patrick B. (2012, October 3) Canadian Feminists back sex selection as valid reason for abortion. Lifesitenews.com. Retrieved from: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/canadian-pro-aborts-refuse-to-condemn-sex-selection/

Deborah L. Rhode. (Spring, 1995), Media Images, Feminist Issues

Signs, Vol. 20, No. 3 pp. 685-710. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3174839

Nikiashtonndp. (2012, April 27) Ashton's M-312 Speech, April 27 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qNLUpBDKUI

Gender Barriers in the Workplace

              According to a study done by OECD, which is the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, in the year 2010, "Canadian men on average get paid more than 20% more than their female colleagues". (torontosun.com)This statistic is disturbing, because many people are unaware of this gender pay gap, or assume that men and women receive equal pay. 
             The gender income gap is defined as "the ratio of female to male wages, and is used to measure the income disparity between men and women."(womenshealthdata.ca). Women often have to give up their careers, or limit the amount of work they can do, in order to be a caregiver for their family. Many employers take this fact into consideration when hiring women, making them less likely to do so. Women are also likely to miss more time at work than men, therefore losing opportunities to earn promotions or career upgrades. A teacher I had in high school, for example, was married to a woman who was working in a government job. They had 3 young children together, so his wife missed work due to maternity leave and child care responsibilities. Because of the time she missed, she did not receive valuable training to her job, and lost the opportunity to earn a promotion or wage increase because she did not receive training. This is an example of what happens to many women, who even in our society today, are not given the same equal opportunities as men. 
        Another factor affecting women's equality in the workplace, is the glass ceiling theory. The glass ceiling is defined as "an intangible barrier within a hierarchy that prevents women or minorities from obtaining upper-level positions". (merriam-webster.com). Barriers such as negative gender stereotypes, inequal pay opportunities, and even sexual harassment all restrict women from achieving the same success in their workplace as men can. This theory mainly affects women, of all ethnicities, and can be broadened to include many minority male and female groups. This is an issue that affects women across the globe; as women everywhere face implicit and explicit gender barriers in the workplace. 

-Jessica

Works Cited

Canada gender pay gap among worst in OECD |Money | Toronto Sun. (n.d.). Toronto Sun. Retrieved from http://www.torontosun.com/money/2010/03/08/13155136.html

Glass ceiling - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). In Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glass%20ceiling

The Source - Women's Health Data Directory. (n.d.). The Source - Women's Health Data Directory. Retrieved from http://www.womenshealthdata.ca/category.aspx?catid=145&rt=2