Crimes of Morality Prostitution

Therefore, a crime of moralities can be defined as illegal activities that are regarded to be a threat to the society's value and are against the law (Boyd, 2015, p. Typically, crimes of morality offend the societal code of conduct or values. Such criminalities include pornography, prostitution, illegal drug use, bigamy, and illegal gambling. In Canada, there has been an increase in legislations that govern crimes of morality and this is largely due to shifts in what people perceive to be appropriate and inappropriate conducts. Prostitution is all about the exchange of sexual services for material things like money, shelter, or food. In fact, they were among the most financially successful brothels in the early 19th Century. At the end of the 19th Century, transcontinental railways developed and this resulted in massive migrations westwards.

Most of the migrants were single men either unmarried or husbands who had left their families behind to search for employment opportunities. As a result, the number of single men increased drastically and this created conducive atmosphere for the flourishment of prostitution. The brothels were situated next to railway stations and minimal attempts were made to close them down unless when social and moral reformers stepped in. For over a quarter century, statutes that prohibit such dealings have been in existence in Canada. Since the 1990s, the debate about prostitution has persisted with initiatives and concerns taking a new direction. Sex workers’ advocacy groups now focus on a wide range of issues such as quelling fears associated with HIV/AIDS; creating charters of rights specifically for trollops; enlightening members of the community educating communities about issues related to the oldest profession; and establishing programs that not only decriminalize prostitution, but also make the practice benign.

For years, prostitution has been a controversial subject for feminists. The subject is mostly discussed in row camps that are highly oppositional. Prostitution not only destroys lives, marriages, and families but also the soul and spirit in a way that contributes towards spiritual and physical death. Judaism also condemns prostitution as it weakens the society's moral fabric. On the other hand, Hinduism definitely regards lust as undivine and only acknowledge sex between married couples for purposes of procreation, rather than pleasures. It is indisputable that sexual activities with prostitutes violate the religious injunctions and is therefore strictly prohibited. In regards to moral values and social norms, prostitution is a deviant behavior. From this analysis, it is evident that prostitution is highly linked to other forms of illegal activities.

Enforcement of the Criminal Act Over the recent past, two cases have challenged how constitutional Canadian Laws governing prostitution are. They are the BC challenge and the case of Bedford vs. Canada. A group of sex workers spearheaded the BC challenge. Specifically, Canadian Supreme Court asserted that the laws prohibiting living in avails of prostitution, which was designed with an aim of targeting exploitive actions, punished legitimate bodyguards, drivers, and managers hired by prostitutes for safety purposes. June 2014 saw the introduction of Bill C-36 in the parliament by the Canadian government. The bill became law in the same year. Under the new legislation, trading sex for things of value such as money remains legal. However, the Act made various activities related to prostitution illegal and the Parliament would have decriminalized them were not for the decision of the Supreme Court.