Evangelicals in Canada have called for prostitutes to have criminal charges related to their work expunged from their records.
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) has urged the government to take the step after of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed earlier this month to tackling violence against women.
The EFC said one of its goals was the elimination of all forms of sexual exploitation, including prostitution, and that the vast majority of prostituted people "enter by force, coercion, or as a result of constrained choice and last resort".
Currently the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act "recognizes that the vast majority of individuals in prostitution are not there by way of free and fully informed choice, and that most of those who are prostituted are vulnerable and have been victimized", the EFC says.
However, the law is not retroactive and the EFC has asked the government to include the removal of criminal convictions for prostitution in its Consultation on the Review of Record Suspensions.
EFC public policy director Julia Beazley said in her letter: "We ask you to consider whether the new start of a clear criminal record for prostituted women is an investment in helping those who have been subject to violence and exploitation."
