On Dec. 20, a unanimous Supreme Court decision struck down provisions of the Criminal Code that had been used for decades to regulate prostitution. The court ruled that three laws — living off the avails of prostitution, communicating in public for purposes of prostitution and keeping a bawdy house — denied prostitutes their Charter rights to security of the person. The ruling stated that because prostitution is legal in Canada, prostitutes have a right to a safe workplace and to conduct business in ways that reduce the risk of harm. The court, however, stayed the decision for one year to give Parliament the option of drafting legislation that conforms to the Charter. But the court offered no guidance on how to draft acceptable legislation for such a controversial and complex issue. It seems to be a minefield.

Rather than trying to liberalize existing prostitution laws, Parliament’s goal should be to abolish prostitution altogether. Prostitution is demeaning and exploitive. It leaves physical, emotional and psychological scars on those people — mostly teens and young women — who become trapped in this destructive way of life. Seldom a profession of choice, prostitution entraps vulnerable young people already caught in poverty, addiction, abuse, mental illness or family breakdowns.

The court ruled that prostitutes are entitled to Charter protection because prostitution is legal. Make prostitution illegal and discussions about living off the avails and operating bawdy houses likely become moot.

Parliament should establish that Canada deplores the degradation and exploitation inherent in prostitution. Prostitution should be criminalized. But rather than target the wayward teens and young women who society has already rejected, new laws should stiffly punish the pimps and the johns, the exploiters and abusers, who barter human flesh for financial gain and pleasure.

This approach has been successfully implemented in Sweden and Norway. The so-called “Nordic approach” criminalizes the trafficking and purchase (rather than the selling) of sex while offering programs to help prostitutes start a new life. It may not be the perfect model for Canada but its emphasis on prostitution as a crime against women is a good place to start.

It is preposterous that a society that values equality, respect and compassion would even contemplate legitimizing such a dehumanizing practice as prostitution by recognizing it in law. The duty of government is not to enable an industry that strips many of society’s most vulnerable and marginalized citizens of their dignity. Government exists to raise the dignity of all its citizens.

Canada needs prostitution laws that do just that.