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Dominatrix challenging prostitution law in court

TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
October 05, 2009 5:45 a.m.
       Text size          
If she could do it herself, Terri-Jean Bedford would strike down Canada’s prostitution laws, perhaps using the riding crop she plans to bring to court.

Instead, the Toronto dominatrix and two other sex workers have launched a sweeping constitutional challenge to the legislation, arguing it perpetuates violence against women.

The landmark case gets underway tomorrow in a University Avenue courtroom where Bedford, in a nod to traditionalism, is promising to arrive well-dressed, even if she is packing a tool of her trade.

“You never know when you might run across a naughty boy, or a naughty judge,” she teased.

The 49-year-old Toronto grandmother, along with prostitutes Valerie Scott, 51, and Amy Lebovitch, 30, is asking Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice to invalidate Criminal Code provisions that serve as Canada’s policy response to the world’s oldest profession.

Critics say the move would make the city and Canada, a sex-tourism location.

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