A Brief on the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act Review: Submitted to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, House of Commons

Introduction

The Sexual Exploitation in Canada Working Group is a subcommittee of The Canadian Council of Churches (CCC), a broad and inclusive ecumenical body representing 26 member churches throughout Canada. Its purpose is to lead a shared church response to sexual exploitation as a justice and human rights issue that primarily affects women and children.

We affirm the current legislation that strengthens the protection of the rights of children, women and men to be free from violence and exploitation, specifically sexual exploitation, and imposes criminal sanctions on those who profit from and exploit others for their own benefit. We affirm that the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) has framed prostitution as a form of violence against women and are encouraged that it does not accept prostitution as inevitable; these are important contributions that affirm the full equality and dignity of girls, boys, women and men.

We believe human beings – women, men and children – are created equal. Therefore, all have a fundamental right to the necessities of life, including safety and protection from exploitation. Accordingly, we support legislation such as PCEPA that addresses the systemic objectification and commodification of children’s, women’s and men’s bodies for sexual services.