Porn studies at Canadian universities have recently attracted heated debate. But the conversation has so far overlooked that nothing less than our liberty as citizens is at stake. As a criminal lawyer and former prosecutor who has spent many years wrestling with our obscenity laws, I for one welcome porn studies because the criminal justice system needs the insight porn studies can provide.
Criminal attorney David Butt was one of the lawyers who argued the Butler case in the Supreme Court of Canada and has conducted many obscenity cases since.
Our criminal obscenity law says producing and distributing porn may land you in jail. Serious stuff indeed. And any worthwhile criminal prohibition must be accompanied by three things: a responsible social consensus that it is the right thing to do; a reasonably clear definition of offending behaviour, so people know where they will cross the line; and informed police and prosecutors to enforce the law fairly. Yet despite my many years of deep involvement in criminal obscenity law, I remain unsure we have any of those three.
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But of course those currently campaigning vocally to suppress any serious consideration of porn in academia have been silenced – totally silenced? Just ask Gail Dines, in between her lecture tours, book signings, college classes (apparently her brand of porn scholarship is perfect and needs no defending) and appearances on Fox News.
Yeah, right.