OTTAWA — The Harper government reacted defiantly Tuesday to a B.C. study which said its plan to bring in a law targeting buyers of sexual services rather than prostitutes will just end up victimizing sex workers in contravention of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The study, sponsored partly by the University of B.C., said the plan is "rhetorically powerful" and "politically appealing" but downright dangerous to the health and safety of prostitutes.

But the government countered with research of its own — a recent online survey which found support for its pending legislation to go after the buyers rather than sellers.

"Our Government has been clear that we will bring forward legislation to address the significant harms that flow from prostitution to communities and vulnerable people," said Paloma Aguilar, spokeswoman for Justice Minister Peter MacKay.

"Our comprehensive response will be reflective of the extensive consultation our Government has held on this subject, which included over 31,000 responses to an online consultation and an in-person stakeholder roundtable hosted by Minister MacKay."

The B.C. research involves interviews with 31 street prostitutes conducted last year after the Vancouver Police Department formally launched a policy to target so-called "johns," or sex buyers, while trying to protect sex workers.

That policy is similar to one that had been initiated in Sweden years ago and is now being copied in other European jurisdictions.

The Canadian government has indicated it is about to bring in legislation following Sweden's lead, in light of the Supreme Court of Canada's landmark decision last December striking down Canada's anti-prostitution laws.

Canada's highest court found that those laws, which left prostitution itself legal but criminalized most activities surrounding the trade, endangered the health and safety of sex workers in contravention of their Charter rights, and gave the government a year to come up with a Charter-compliant alternative.

"While rhetorically powerful and politically appealing, there is a fundamental conceptual inconsistency in policies that criminalize clients and purport to prioritize the safety of sex workers," the study concluded.

The report said the Vancouver research backs studies in Sweden indicating that the targeting of sex buyers doesn't make prostitutes any safer, since their livelihoods depend on making sure their clients don't get busted.

"Sex workers continued to mistrust police, had to rush screening clients, and were displaced to outlying areas with increased risks of violence, including being forced to engage in unprotected sex," the report said.

The peer-reviewed study was published Tuesday in the British Medical Journal Open, was sponsored by the University of B.C.'s department of medicine, the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, the Pivot Legal Society, and the Vancouver organization Sex Workers United Against Violence.

The department of justice's online survey in February received 31,172 responses. Of the respondents 56 per cent said the buying of sexual services should be criminalized, compared to 44 per cent who said it shouldn't. However, just 34 per cent said the sale of sexual services should result in criminal charges, compared to 66 per cent who said it shouldn't.

"Public consultation activities such as this should not be confused or viewed as the same as a survey with a statistically random selection of the population," said Vancouver pollster Evi Mustel.

"Those who have a strong opinion about the topic (one way or another) tend to respond, and they do not necessarily reflect the views of the broader population."

Katrina Pacey, litigation director with the Pivot Legal Society, urged the government to examine the study.

"I cannot imagine that the federal government would want to create a legal framework that creates the conditions for the kinds of violence that sex workers have had to endure in the past. Sex workers know how to be safe in their work, and it's important that Canada's criminal laws not prevent them from those important and sometimes life-saving safety measures."

poneil@postmedia.com

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