CANADA’S BILL C-36, THE PROTECTION OF COMMUNITIES AND EXPLOITED PERSONS ACT: EXAMINING HOW SEX WORK IS PROBLEMATIZED IN CANADIAN POLICY AND MEDIA, AND HOW IT AFFECTS SEX WORKERS

Abstract

This study addresses contemporary legislation regulating the Canadian sex industry, focusing on Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. Bill C-36, described as a ‘neo-abolitionist’ approach to sex work, criminalizes the purchase of sexual services. Drawing on a critical analysis of Bill C-36, in addition to a content analysis of relevant news articles and interviews with sex workers and police in Halifax, the study examines how dominant representations of sex work are disseminated and resisted. I argue that sex work is constructed as a particular kind of social problem in Bill C-36 rendering certain policy responses inevitable. However, while Bill C-36 promulgates a (mis)representation of the sex industry which attempts to disregard sex workers’ agency and capacity for self-determination, sex workers exhibit resistance against their ‘victim status’ and its associated stigma, challenging the power structures of society.