Legal Changes and the Decline of Sex Work Arrests in Toronto Neighborhoods, 1992–2020

A new study from the University of Toronto Mississauga reveals that sex work arrests in Toronto have dropped by 99.6% since the early 1990s, even as Canadian laws have grown more restrictive.

Drawing on police data and census information, the researchers found that remaining arrests are disproportionately concentrated in the city's most socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

They say the findings add a new dimension to ongoing policy debates, pointing to a gap between Canada's increasingly strict sex work laws and their selective enforcement.

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