Letter to Minister McKay: Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act

Re: Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act

Dear Minister MacKay,

We are writing to welcome the recent efforts of the Department of Justice to strengthen the protection of the rights of children, women, and men to be free from violence and exploitation, specifically sexual exploitation, and to criminalize those who profit from and exploit others for their own benefit. We affirm the steps your government has taken towards framing prostitution as a form of violence against women and are encouraged that you do not accept prostitution as inevitable; these are important contributions to affirming the full equality and dignity of girls, boys, women and men. Likewise, we welcome the announcement regarding $20 million in new funding to support grassroots organizations dealing with the most vulnerable who assist those who want to exit prostitution.

We believe human beings – women, men and children – are created equal and all are promised abundant life, each of us a glittering strand in the shimmering web of life. Therefore, all have a fundamental right to the necessities of life, including safety and protection from exploitation. Accordingly, we support efforts to address the systemic objectification and commodification of children’s, women’s and men’s bodies for sexual services.