Brogan Sheehan, pictured in her Halifax apartment on Jan. 25, won a small claims court case over an unpaid fee from a client in what advocates say is a step toward protecting sex workers from being financially exploited.DARREN CALABRESE/The Globe and Mail
A Halifax sex worker has won her small claims court case over an unpaid fee from a client in what her advocates say is a huge step toward strengthening the rights of all sex workers and protecting them from being financially exploited.
“It affirms that sex workers carry on businesses and that they should have access to the same legal mechanisms to enforce their agreements as any other service provider,” said Jessica Rose, a lawyer who represented the plaintiff in the Small Claims Court of Nova Scotia. “They’ve got rent to pay and they’ve got kids to feed just like the rest of us.”
On Jan. 26, 2022, Brogan Sheehan took an Uber to an upscale apartment building in downtown Halifax to provide companionship services to a man named Bradley Samuelson, according to court documents filed in small claims court. Ms. Sheehan said she would provide sexual services at a rate of $300 per hour.
Seven hours after Ms. Sheehan arrived, Mr. Samuelson gave her his bank card to withdraw money from his account, but the card didn’t work. Over text message, he claimed she had used the wrong PIN and froze his account. Later that day, after several texts back and forth, he finally paid her $300, leaving a balance of $1,800.
The issue of the case came down to whether a sex worker can sue to recover unpaid fees, said adjudicator Darrel Pink in his April 11 ruling. (A publication ban that prevented the decision from being reported was lifted by a judge on Friday.)
Mr. Samuelson had argued that a contract for sexual services is not enforceable in law because it’s an illegal contract.
Purchasing sexual services is illegal, however, the selling of sexual services by a single sex worker is not. Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, passed into law in October, 2014, under the Conservative government, was intended to protect people who sell their own sexual services from exploitation, prevent child-trafficking and reduce the demand for prostitution.
Mr. Pink considered the intent of that bill in his decision, stating that it includes commercial exploitation by those who refuse to pay for services willingly bargained for. In his decision, Mr. Pink ruled that the contract was enforceable based on several factors: because sex work is not illegal, it follows that normal commercial law benefits afforded by civil law should be available to sex workers. Other legislation, such as paying income tax, also applies to sex workers. He also noted that Mr. Samuelson voluntarily hired her, agreed to pay for her services and communicated intent to pay.
Nova Scotia sex worker takes client to small claims court over unpaid fee
Mr. Samuelson was ordered to pay Ms. Sheehan $1,800 plus interest and costs, which he did on May 24.
Ms. Sheehan said she’s relieved and proud that the victory now clears the way for other sex workers to seek a legal remedy when clients refuse to pay, which happens often.
“It gives me hope that sex work will be legalized eventually,” said Ms. Sheehan. “I went through a lot of different emotions at once. It still hasn’t fully set in.”
Ms. Sheehan, a peer support counsellor for sex workers, said the decision has already made a difference for some of her sex worker friends, who have invoked it to obtain payment from clients who refuse to pay. She and one of her supporters, Emma Halpern, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia, are planning a workshop for sex workers to explain the court decision so they can feel empowered to stand up for their rights.
Ms. Halpern said the court’s decision is groundbreaking for sex workers in Canada. It had been a murky area of law that had yet to be clarified until now, she said. “Now we know, yes, they do have access for unpaid services and just like any other business owner,” she said. “This will be a very significant change in validating and supporting the work that sex workers do.”
Sex work advocates have been fighting to decriminalize sex work to not only have recourse for non-payment for services, but for access to the same benefits and protections afforded to people working in other industries. The federal government’s Department of Justice website says legalizing and regulating prostitution would result in more people being subjected to prostitution. The Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform, representing 25 sex workers’ groups, sued the federal government and the Ontario government in 2021, challenging the constitutionality of Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act.
Over the past year, the case took its toll on Ms. Sheehan. She lost 100 pounds and her hair started falling out. But she said she knew she had to keep going after realizing the impact the outcome could have on sex workers’ rights across the country. She said she keeps a paper copy of the 16-page small claims court decision on her coffee table to remind herself that change is always worth pursuing.