Canada's Supreme Court struck down key sections of law on Friday that banned brothels and sex solicitation on the street.
The court ruled that the law sections that essentially criminalized prostitution were a danger to prostitutes, the AFP reported.
"[The case was] not about whether prostitution should be legal or not," Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin said of the landmark decision.
The court stayed for one year its unanimous ruling to let Parliament consider possible limitations on prostitution.
According to McLachlin, the justices ruled on "whether the laws Parliament has enacted on how prostitution may be carried out pass constitutional muster. I conclude that they do not.
"I would therefore make a suspended declaration of invalidity, returning the question of how to deal with prostitution to Parliament."
Three sex workers who argued that the laws criminalizing brothels, being a prostitute for a living and soliciting sex in public brought the legal challenge.
Terri Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch and Valerie Scott, all of Toronto, said the laws forced prostitutes to find customers on street corners and blocked them from taking such safety measures as hiring security or screening potential clients.
"The danger faced by prostitutes greatly outweighs any harm which may be faced by the public," said the court ruling.
Rob Nicholson, Canada's then-justice minister, appealed the ruling with the argument that prostitution is harmful for society and exploitative of women.
But the justices agreed with the women who brought the case, including Bedford, who said, "[The government can't tell] consenting adults what we can and cannot do in the privacy of our home for money or not, and they must write laws that are fair."
She worked for 14 years as a street prostitute and other roles as a sex worker until her 2010 retirement.
Representatives of Christian organizations have expressed concern that prostitution will lead to more human trafficking.
"What we're suggesting is for the first time in Canada, prostitution would be illegal," said Don Hutchinson, counsel for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The purchase of sexual services or the rental of somebody's body would become illegal."
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