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| Colombian orchid photos courtesy Agnes Epp |
Canada's prostitution laws have been
struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada. The Canadian government
has one year in which to come up with something better. Read all
about it here.
The outcries are coming from many
directions, of course, as they generally do when “moral matters”
and state law rub shoulders. In a sense, all laws are based on
somebody's definition of what is moral and what is not, but when it
comes to enacting a good law that satisfies the sensitivities of a
multi-faith, multicultural citizenry, answers don't come easily. Take
gay marriage, prayer in schools, family planning, war on drugs, gun
control and now, prostitution, and you have an encyclopedia of
passionate controversy.
Prostitution makes an interesting case
study in and of itself and as a platform for thinking through
religion/state separation and cooperation.
On its face, sexual prostitution
responds to a basic biological need, namely the drive to extract
pleasure from sexual behaviour with another person. The exchange of
sexual favours for cash has been a feature of every age since the
invention of money and writing, and likely before
that. In a way, one could apply the innocuous, simplistic, “you have a need, I have the
means; let's make a deal,” description. Viewed in this way, sexual
prostitution is not radically different from general commerce: for
instance, people exhibit a need to witness violence, so fighters beat
each other to bloody pulps in the ring, observers experience an
“orgasm” of vicarious pleasure and the fighters are paid.
But the professional hockey player,
the owner of theme parks, the movie actor and opera singer don't wear
the patina of sexual taboo that sex workers do, the ones who are seen
as “hard prostitutes.” It's surely for this reason that organized
crime and pimps are attracted to the benefits of controlling sexual
prostitution exchanges. When have we seen criminals kidnapping budding hockey
players, transporting them overseas and selling them to the highest
bidder among foreign hockey teams? How prevalent is the incidence of
opera singers being forced to pay a portion of their salary for
“protection?” That which is forbidden in law often becomes a
commodity in the criminal marketplace; drug trade, tobacco smuggling,
gun running, rum running are phenomena comparable to sexual prostitution in this light.
As a Christian (albeit one who has
been described as being notoriously liberal on social issues at
times) I see prostitution as a very sad symptom of cultural and/or
economic dysfunction. There are paths in our growing up that lead to
being a john or a prostitute, a pastor or a used car salesman.
There are paths in our growing up that lead to violence against—and
exploitation of—other persons, as there are paths leading to
generosity and empathy. It is at this level that Christian
witness and service must be aimed: education, nurturing and an
indefatigable fight against those forces that contribute to
inequality and poverty.
Making better paths, in other words.
On the state level, the tendency is to
solve problems and inconveniences legally. For one, this approach
generally deals with the aftermath
of transgression and anti-social behaviour and seeks to deter behaviours through punishment. For another, the lack of
consensus in the population often means that legislation ends up
taking its cues primarily from the interests of those who hold power
at the time—and hope to maintain it—and those with
commercial interests and the means to sway parliamentarians.
As churches, we are—or ought to be—about prevention. Waiting for the
government to enact laws as if our church were the whole world both
flies in the face of our preference for church/state separation and
diverts us from the tasks we've been given in the world.
How our government tackles the
legislative changes on this issue will be interesting to watch. It's
touchy when 40% of the vote can provide any party with a majority.
Eliminating prostitution through legal means is a pipe dream;
curbing the exploitation of—and trafficking in—women by organized
crime might be the best we can hope for; how to make that happen is the government's challenge in the coming year. Distasteful as it will be
to some, state regulated brothels as in the Netherlands is one possible consideration that will emerge, like safe injection sites for addicts and liquor board stores for drinkers.
Prostitution as it exists in our cities today is symptomatic of
social dysfunction, and is likely here to stay.
Recognizing that, how does the church respond? how does government? If you know, tell me and I'll pass it on. Just click here.
