Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, 2012 ONCA ... - York University

Page: 9BACKGROUNDThe parties[10] Terri Jean Bedford is a 52-year-old woman who has worked as aprostitute 1 in various Canadian cities, including Calgary, Vancouver, Windsor andToronto. Over the years she has worked as a street prostitute, a massageparlour attendant, an escort, an owner and manager of an escort agency, and adominatrix. She hopes to resume work as a dominatrix if this litigation issuccessful. She is not currently working as a prostitute.[11] Amy Lebovitch is a 33-year-old woman who has worked as a prostitute inMontreal, Ottawa and Toronto. She has worked as a street prostitute, as anescort, and in a fetish house. She currently works independently as a prostituteout of her own home. She has taken courses in criminology and psychology atthe University of Ottawa and in social work at Ryerson University.[12] Valerie Scott is a 53-year-old woman who has worked as a street prostituteand a massage parlour attendant. She has also worked independently from herhome and in hotels. She is currently the executive director of Sex Professionalsof Canada, a group that advocates for the decriminalization of prostitution1 As the application judge noted at endnote 4 of her reasons, we acknowledge that some prefer the term“sex worker” to “prostitute”, which they consider to be pejorative. Others take the opposite view andargue that the term “sex worker” ignores the plight of women who are forced into prostitution. In thesereasons, as in the court below, we use the term “prostitute” to track the language of the Criminal Code,and should not be seen to be adjudicating on this issue.