In a legal decision described as the first of its kind in Canada, a Halifax sex worker successfully sued a client for nonpayment of services, but actors in the industry are conflicted about the ruling's impacts.
Former sex worker Brogan Sheehan took Bradley Samuelson to small claims court after he didn't fully pay her fee, which both parties had agreed to beforehand. Samuelson argued that the agreement was invalid because it is illegal to purchase sexual services, but court adjudicator Darrel Pink said the contract could still be enforced and awarded Sheehan $1,800.
The decision also reflects a changing attitude within society and the law toward sex work, Halpern said. The public is beginning to understand the difference between “extremely harmful, predatory things like sex trafficking, and legitimate sex work by an adult who is a worker, pays taxes, has a business.”
The vast majority of sex workers, she said, won't seek financial recourse via the court system because sex work is still criminalized in Canada. Going to court exposes a sex worker — and potentially everyone else she is associated with — to the justice system, Wesley said. Wesley says, "I hope the minister of justice and prime minister read the decision, read the law, and consider it's time to change it."
And while the decision doesn’t have a binding precedent, it could still influence other court rulings, he said. Pink’s decision, rendered in April, says public policy requires the courts “not to increase or contribute to exploitation of sex work, and thus favours a regime that gives aggrieved sex workers access to the civil courts when they have a civil claim.”
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