Natasha Falle

The Government of Canada disagreed with Ontario's ruling and announced that the decision would be appealed. Falle helped the Crown formulate their case. That November, Falle was a panelist at a debate about the case. At the debate, which was hosted by the Queen's Law and Public Policy Club at Queen's University, Falle said that, whatever the outcome of the appeal, she was glad that the case was removing the taboos surrounding talking about prostitution. The following June, Falle and more than twelve others intervened in the case, arguing that the laws should be reinstated to protect women from pimps. As part of this anti-prostitution coalition, Falle said that all areas of the sex industry are unsafe, including escort agencies and strip clubs. Falle testified in the lower courts, saying that "the more they say the women are there by choice, the harder it is for us to convince police, social workers and everyone else that these people are vulnerable." She also said that striking down anti-prostitution laws sends a message to men that it is acceptable to harass women. Falle said that all the applicants in Bedford v. Canada—including Terri-Jean Bedford, the dominatrix seeking to have the anti-brothel law struck down—entered the sex industry as children. For this reason, Falle argued that neither of these women chose a life of prostitution as a consenting adult; that life had already been chosen for them by the time that they had reached the age of consent. Falle encouraged Canadians to take an interest in Bedford v. Canada because any Canadian girl can become a victim of prostitution.

Eventually, the laws against pimping and communicating provisions were determined to be constitutional and were retained. As of 2013, the constitutionality of the law against brothels was still under review. Falle said that brothels should not be legalized, saying, "I know firsthand and... from the disclosures of the many women that I've been able to counsel over the years that most violence happens behind closed doors." Falle said that if brothels were legalized, the police would have less legal ability to find women and children victimized by human trafficking. Bedford said that legalizing brothels would make prostitution safer for women because it would allow prostitution to take place indoors. Falle responded that most prostitution has already moved indoors, as the internet has made most street solicitation unnecessary, and argues that the move indoors has not made the women safer. She said that when she was in prostitution, she was even a little safer outdoors because of the added visibility to the public. In discussion of the case, Falle said, "I don't know anyone in the prostitution business who hasn’t ended up dead, in jail, or on drugs." She intended to bring a pimp stick to the Supreme Court of Canada in June 2013 as a visual aid in explaining how pimps often abuse the women they prostitute.

In March 2013, Falle spoke at the 57th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, where she sat on a panel called "Survivors Speak: Prostitution and Sex Trafficking" that was sponsored by Coalition Against Trafficking in Women. That May, Falle spoke at a fundraiser for the Servants Anonymous Society of Calgary, an organization that supports sex workers in the city. It was her first time in Calgary since she had been part of the sex industry there. The fundraiser was called "Cry of the Streets: An Evening for Freedom" and raised money for Servants Anonymous Facilitates Exit, a women's shelter for those seeking to leave the sex industry. At the fundraiser, Falle advocated adopting a law in Canada analogous to Sweden's Sex Purchase Act, which decriminalized the selling of sex and criminalized pimping and the purchasing of sex. Falle argued in support of modelling prostitution law in Canada after Sweden's laws because she believes that prostitution cannot be regulated. At another time, she had said that "it's not Canada's laws that make prostitution unsafe, it's the johns who are raping and abusing the women and their pimps." Also in 2013, Falle said that the average age at which girls get involved in prostitution in Canada is 14, and that their emotional intelligence does not develop while in prostitution, preventing many of them from leaving. She also said that prostitution has grown significantly in Canada since she left the sex industry, and that most human trafficking victims in Canada were born and raised in Canada.

Falle uses the term "sex trade survivor" to describe herself. In 2012, Falle sought to bring a lawsuit against her former pimp to demonstrate to other women who are or have been forcibly prostituted that it is possible to oppose one's pimp. In 2013, she said that, while she has left much aggression and profanity behind since leaving the sex industry, some of the issues that she developed will stick with her until the end of her life. Jonathan Migneault of the Sudbury Star wrote that "Falle's story about her descent in and escape from prostitution is so horrific you almost don't believe the details." Sam Pazzano of the Toronto Sun wrote that, after 12 years of prostitution, Falle still has "attractive looks and [a] sharp mind."

Sex Trade 101 calls itself "Toronto's only sex trade survivors and abolitionist organization" and is composed of 12 women who had escaped forced prostitution and who offer training for police in order to change perceptions about people involved in the sex trade. The organization is also involved in prevention work in high schools. The organization offers mentorship and peer support groups for women who are currently or were formerly in prostitution. It also partners with other organizations including the Servants Anonymous Society of Calgary and Sheatre, an Owen Sound-based interactive theatre company. In 2012, Falle and Bridget Perrier represented Sex Trade 101 in Owen Sound where they launched ReStart, a mentorship program to aid women and youth who are at risk of sexual victimization, to help people exit the sex trade, and to provide support once they have exited. At the workshop that launched this program, Falle said that some people in the sex industry engage in survival sex—trading sex for food, a place to sleep, alcohol, drugs, or the feeling that they are loved. She said that rural communities are common places for women and children to be groomed into prostitution. She identified Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound as particularly vulnerable because of the substance abuse in the area. By 2013, Sex Trade 101 had served more than 1,000 women. In May 2012, Falle spoke about human trafficking at high schools in Vancouver primarily because of the influence of a parent concerned about human trafficking in the area and its dangers to children.

In October 2012, Falle was the keynote speaker at a symposium on street prostitution and human trafficking, which took place at Croatian Hall in Greater Sudbury and was attended by approximately 100 people. Sergeant Corinne Fewster of the Greater Sudbury Police Service said that the manner in which Falle was aided in her transition out of prostitution is a good example for local social and health services to follow in helping other women exit the sex industry. The following month, Falle told her story at a lunch hosted by The Salvation Army in Vancouver. That year, Falle said, "Where there's high-track prostitutes, escorts, strippers and masseuses; there's pimp violence."

In January 2011, Falle appeared at the Party for Freedom at York University in Toronto, which launched the Alliance Against Modern Slavery, a nonprofit organization seeking to combat human trafficking through partnerships, education, and research. Falle was joined by Glendene Grant, human trafficking victim Jessie Foster's mother; Kevin Bales, co-founder and president of Free the Slaves; Kate Todd, a singer-songwriter and actor; Janelle Belgrave of Samba Elégua Drummers and Peace Concept; Roger Cram of Hiram College; and Jeff Gunn, a guitarist. That September, Falle attended Toronto's second annual Freedom Walk, which was hosted by Stop Child Trafficking Now, Freedom Relay Canada, and Oakville's Free-Them. At this event aimed at raising awareness about human trafficking nationally and internationally, Falle was joined by other abolitionists including Tara Teng, who was Miss Canada at the time; Trisha Baptie, co-founder of EVE; Shae Invidiata, founder of Free-Them; Timea Nagy; Constable Lepa Jankovic; MP Joy Smith; MP Olivia Chow; and MP Terence Young.

In June 2010, Kildonan—St. Paul Member of Parliament (MP) Joy Smith's private member's bill, Bill C-268, was passed as An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years). Falle was one of the bill's five main proponents, the others being Timea Nagy, a woman who was trafficked from Hungary to Canada at the age of 20 and kept as a sex slave in a strip club; Tamara Cherry, a Toronto Sun journalist who writes about human trafficking in Canada; Brian McConaghy, a former RCMP officer who works with Ratanak International—another anti-human-trafficking organization; and Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Ron Evans, who raised awareness about victims of the sex industry in Manitoba. Later that year, Falle said that the best way to fight human trafficking is to influence public opinion.

Later in 2010 in Winnipeg, Falle received an award at the first annual Honouring Heroes ceremony, which was organized by Joy Smith, who is also an anti-human-trafficking activist. Falle called Smith an angel, saying, "It's only been in the last few years since all those missing and murdered aboriginal women turned up dead did anybody care about us. So to have her speak out the way she is against [prostitution] is so empowering." Falle was one of five award recipients at the ceremony, the other four being the other primary proponents of Bill C-268.

Falle took a sustained interest in Bedford v. Canada, a case that began in the fall of 2010 when laws against keeping a brothel, communicating in order to facilitate prostitution, and living off the avails of prostitution were struck down by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice as unconstitutional. When Falle first heard about this decision, she cried, and expressed surprise and disappointment. She said that she did not believe that the average Canadian realized the implications of striking down these laws, which she said were that "your next door neighbours can run a brothel right beside you. Your children could be exposed to condoms left on their driveway, johns propositioning them." She also expressed her concern that striking down anti-prostitution laws normalizes prostitution as a career option for children to consider. She also said that, without the laws, "pimps will be legitimate businesspeople [and] billboards advertising brothels could start appearing on roadsides." Ron Marzel, a lawyer attempting to have the anti-prostitution laws declared unconstitutional, said, "the reality is there are consenting adults who want to go into" prostitution. Falle was angered by this statement, and replied that 97% of women in the sex industry are not engaging in prostitution by choice, and that "the voices of the overwhelming majority of women who want to get out of prostitution are being drowned out by a vocal few."

In October 2010, Falle picketed a courthouse in downtown Toronto in recognition of International Day of No Prostitution. She was joined by Trisha Baptie, Bridget Perrier, Katarina MacLeod, and Christine Barkhouse; all were former human trafficking victims and sex workers. At the protest, Falle said that "only 1% of prostitutes say they enjoy sex with johns and 97% say they want to get out."

In 2001, Falle began counselling women in prostitution at Streetlight Support Services, and counselled more than 800 women in the subsequent decade, 97% of whom wrote on their intake surveys that they wanted to exit the sex industry. In order to make this statistic more widely known, Falle founded Sex Trade 101. She began offering training for police and partners with the Toronto Police Service's sex crimes unit. Falle was one of the main proponents of Member of Parliament (MP) Joy Smith's private member's bill, Bill C-268, which was passed in June 2010 as An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years), and she helped the Canadian government formulate their appeal of the decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Bedford v. Canada to strike down various prostitution laws. Falle advocates adopting a law in Canada analogous to Sweden's Sex Purchase Act, which would decriminalize the selling of sex and criminalize the purchasing of sex.

In 2001, Falle began counselling women in prostitution at Streetlight Support Services. Once she received her diploma from George Brown College, she redeveloped the organization's Choices program, a four-week program that helps women leave prostitution. Between 1997 and 2005, Choices helped 325 women out of the sex trade. Women entered into the program through the criminal justice system after being arrested for offences related to prostitution. By 2011, Falle had conselled more than 800 women. Of these women, 97% wrote on their intake surveys that they wanted to exit the sex industry, and 95% wrote that they had been physically abused by either a pimp, a client, or another woman in the sex industry. Falle believed these statistics to be representative of women in prostitution in Canada because the women she counselled did not come to her by choice; they were required to undergo the counselling by court order. In 2010, Falle said that hundreds of the women she had met were controlled by pimps, either as sexual partners or as traffickers. She also said that women in prostitution tend to be moved around a lot because they tend to fetch higher prices when they are new to a region. One of the women she counselled through Streetlight Support Services had been kept in a closet when she was not providing sexual services to men.

Natasha Falle (born 1973) is a Canadian professor at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada who was forcibly prostituted from the ages of 15 to 27 and now opposes prostitution in Canada. Falle grew up in a middle-class home and, when her parents divorced, her new single-parent home became unsafe, and Falle ran away from home. At the age of 15, Falle became involved in the sex industry in Calgary, Alberta.

Eventually, the personal horror stories Falle heard from other women in her situation convinced her that she needed to get out of prostitution. Her substance dependence became so severe that she almost died. Her best friend was killed by her pimp. By this point, many of her friends in the sex industry had died, and she thought that she would be next. One night, Falle was hiding alone in a hotel room when she found a Bible placed there by Gideons International. She began reading the Psalms and later said, "For the first time I understood what God was saying to me. That night my life began to move in a new direction." On her 27th birthday, Falle left her husband and returned to her mother. Because of the delusions, Falle did not recognize her mother, thinking she had been replaced with a clone. Falle told her mother about being dependent on cocaine, entering prostitution, and marrying her pimp. Her mother accepted her back. It took several more years before Falle gave up hope that her husband would change.