My Upper Canada College Speech – III

And something else. Human trafficking and women being illegally exploited in this country occurs across a number of occupations such as household domestics, farm labourers, office cleaners and, I could go on. The judge did point out that the negative aspects of human trafficking and so on are addressed by other laws: such as those against immigration, confinement and assault. And they say prostitution is bad. Well guess what. I say it’s good. Who the hell are they to decide I say it is wrong to allow women to have premarital sex for free yet make them criminals if they get a dinner or favour or money for it. We are not slaves! They say smoking is bad. They say overeating is bad. They say getting drunk is bad. So why when women exercise free choice in the bedroom does it have to be illegal – even if it is bad, which it is not?

Why do I say prostitution is good? It’s not just me. All over town men and women are paying for sex acts now. Would they do it if it was not good? And what about acts that may or may not be sexual. Some of you may have tied up your boyfriends and tickled them, or had them do it to you. What’s wrong with that? Is that a sex act if your clothes are on? And of course, if they paid you to do it are you a criminal? I think we should get a medal when we punish men or take their money.

To be Continued

- Terri-Jean Bedford
http://DominatrixOnTrial.com

My Upper Canada Speech – I

"Before anything else I want to thank Nikki Thomas for being such a wonderful spokesperson for our successful motion to strike down those appalling laws which were supposedly against prostitution. Nicki has told and can tell you about what is likely to happen if Judge Himel’s ruling is upheld. I am going to speak to you today about those who oppose Judge Himel’s decision. It seems to me there are two types of opponents First there are those who know what the decision said, and may even have read it. Then there are those who do not know what the decision said yet have an opinion on it. Let me deal with the second group first. Judge Himel said her decision was not about whether prostitution is good or bad, or whether it should continue to be legal, or, for that matter, what prostitution is and is not. Her 131 page decision, after two years of hearings from experts and lawyers, was that the laws seeking to restrict prostitution (whatever that is) were unconstitutional. In a nutshell she said that those laws impacted negatively on those they were supposed to protect. For example, they prevent prostitutes from hiring security or working from a regular location. She also said that these harmful laws impacted in a discriminatory and arbitrary fashion on a narrow segment of society– on women."

To be Continued

- Terri-Jean Bedford
http://DominatrixOnTrial.com

Good to be Back

Thanks to so many who have sent kind messages while I recovered from my surgery. I am much better now and am going to resume my blogs.

We are approaching the release of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision about Justice Susan Himel’s decision of September 2010. She struck down the laws which supposedly restricted prostitution in Ontario, and Canada. The government’s appeal was heard in June 2011. No matter what the higher court says in its decision a huge national debate on the issues involved will begin.

I was a panellist at a major conference at Toronto’s Upper Canada College debating the issue of whether prostitution should be decriminalized. My remarks were about the opposition to Judge Himel’s decision. Over the next couple of weeks I will share a text of those remarks with you, and after that have further comments about the issues about to come before the country. You can see a video of me delivering my remarks on my web sites, and you can get background on the Himel decision in my book Dominatrix on Trial.

Terri-Jean Bedford
http://dominatrixontrial.com

Update on My Condition

Hello everybody. I'm still recovering from surgery. Although not a cure it did help. Soon I'll be responding to all your good wishes.

Otherwise, there's some interesting times to come. It may not be much longer before the decision on the prostitution laws comes down. Then I'll have plenty to say. That's primarily what I'm saving up my energy for.

TJB
http://dominatrixontrial.com

Questions and Comments about Dominatrix on Trial – XIII

I have one further thing to say about the reactions of those women at the Christmas party to my book. They told me they did not realize how much in the way of resources and resolve is involved in a legal battle. They told me that it is terrible when innocent people are pressured into pleading out because of what it takes to fight. They realized that too many innocent people are convicted. Some of them said they were very depressed and frightened by this.

TJB
http://dominatrixontrial.com

Questions and Comments about Dominatrix on Trial – XII

As I mentioned in the previous blog the women at the Christmas gathering had so many questions and things to say about my book. One of the interesting things was the variety of women who worked for me. Indeed. As I pointed out in 'Dominatrix on trial' women of almost any size, shape, age, colour or ethnicity can succeed in the role. The variety of role play and players sought by clients has never ceased to amaze me. The gals at the party said that was one of the things about the book they found surprising.

Questions and Comments about Dominatrix on Trial – XI

When I was at a Christmas gathering some women who had read my book were very kind in their praise about how long I fought and what I fought for. Naturally they had many questions. One of them was whether I missed running a dungeon. My answer to that was that in my current state of health the thought of having to keep appointments and prepare for them is now simply beyond the pale. It has now been almost a decade since I have run a full facility. Even when I was in good health and younger, as I pointed out in the book, it was a tough grind – though it certainly had its moments.