Risk to sex workers may be justified, court told

 The electrical power bar alone tells a story.

Slightly askew on the green courtroom carpet, it boasts a tangle of cords running to the iPads and computers of the lawyers’ contingent involved in this week’s prostitution challenge.

Many act for interveners who finally made their pitches to the Ontario Court of Appeal on Thursday, weighing in on everything from the morality of sex for money to absence of health and safety protections for prostitutes.

First up was Ranjan Agarwal, a lawyer representing a coalition of conservative and religious groups who want the court to reverse Justice Susan Himel’s decision from last year that found Criminal Code prohibitions on bawdy houses and prostitution-related activities unconstitutional.

Himel found they infringed the right to security of the person and did not accord with fundamental justice because they prevented sex workers from taking steps to protect themselves, including hiring bodyguards, currently banned by provisions against living on the avails of the prostitution.

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Source: Toronto Star