Charlie Langton: What Do Legal Brothels In Windsor Mean For Detroit?

DETROIT (Talk Radio 1270) A short skip over the bridge or through the tunnel brings metro Detroiters to Windsor -- where a ruling this week by the Canadian High Court now allows brothels -- and pimps.

Keisha Scott, executive director of Maggie's Toronto Sex Action Project, which provides assistance to sex workers, called  the Charlie Langton 1270 Talk Radio morning show to discuss the latest twist in the world's oldest profession.

How does the system work? Langton asked.

"We're not talking about the idea we see in media...where's there's a house, a madam," Scott said. "It could just be me working in a house or a hotel. What the body law being struck down means is that I can now work from my home. I can work without fear or prosecution or arrest in a hotel.

"Now it means that if I want to work with someone else and share a space, I can do that now. I don't have to worry about going to someone's house ... I can have my own home and do it, I can rent a space."

Langton asked on his Facebook page if Michigan should do the same thing. "I got a lot of responses there," Langton said, adding that many said it could be taxed to bring more money into the state coffers.

"Prostitution was "legal" up until the early nineteen hundreds - FACT," wrote M.D. White.

"More tax dollars! Let's stop pretending it doesn't happen widespread and bring in some money to this poor state!" chimed in Shee Majors.

How much money can a sex worker make? Langton asked.

"I think it depends on the individual, it depends on how much you work...You could make $400 a day, $2000 a week," Scott said.

"That's a six-figure income!" Langton said.

Ontario's high court legalized brothels and pimps in the latest move, calling it "extremely dangerous work" made more dangerous by not allowing sex workers to work together. This way, brothels and pimps will be allowed to operate and hire security guards like any other business.

But Smith says the new laws still don't go far enough.

"We don't see it as a win... We do see it as a very small step forward in terms of rights of sex workers," Smith said. "Prostitution itself, exchanging sex for money in Canada is legal, but all the laws make it incredibly difficult to work."