[LINK] "Government prostitution survey full of ‘loaded’ questions"

[rfmcdonald]

I submitted my own answer to the government prostitution survey described by the Ottawa Citizen's Derek Spalding some time ago, and I did notice a certain bias. All the more reason to put something in to try to counter the bias!

Federal Justice Department staff on Monday launched an online survey aimed to solicit public input on the works it’s been left with by a recent Supreme Court decision.

However, local experts questioned the approach taken by the Conservatives.

It assumes prostitution is dangerous and that all sex workers want to be saved, said Chris Bruckert, associate professor in the criminology department at University of Ottawa. She also criticized government for not conducting town-hall style consultations where people have more time to unpack their opinions about prostitution laws.

The online survey and accompanying background information will be posted on the Justice Department website until March 17.

[. . .]

The Conservative party, at least in part, has already stated support for a European approach to solicitation laws that criminalizes people buying sex and human traffickers who force others into prostitution. Under this Nordic model, which has already been touted by Winnipeg MP Joy Smith as the best way to update Canadian laws, prostitutes are not punished criminally.

Smith last week released a report that called for a similar model in Canada. Despite criticisms, she stands by her report and the government’s survey.

“Our government is consulting Canadians on the best legislative response to prostitution,” she wrote in a statement Monday. “The harm caused by prostitution to women, girls and vulnerable populations has been well documented by women’s and First Nations organizations.”

Smith’s comments were similar to the background information provided with the online survey. The document indicates “it is generally acknowledged that prostitution poses risks to those involved and to the communities in which it is practised.”

Bruckert calls this a “loaded assertion” that misses the point of the Supreme Court decision, which — she says — determined that Canadian laws were creating risks to people working in the sex trade.