The Right To Privacy Committee
Organization profile published 1982

Year Published:  1982
Resource Type:  Organization
Cx Number:  CX2444

The Right to Privacy Committee (RTPC) defines itself as an open membership, non-profit organization.

Abstract: 
The Right to Privacy Committee (RTPC) defines itself as an open membership, non-profit organization. Among its main objectives are:

1) "to raise funds for the legal defence of gay men charged as found-ins and keepers under the bawdy house laws, and to provide them with counselling and support services"; and
2) "to press for changes in the bawdy house laws as would prevent them from being used to persecute consenting adults."

The RTPC releases a free publication called "Action." This special edition (Vol 1, #5) is devoted entirely to the bawdy house controversy. One article points out that police raids of gay clubs and baths have been extensive (in many of Canada's larger cities) and that the bawdy house laws have also been used to justify police intervention into private homes and into heterosexual swing clubs. Another article explains "what a gay bath is actually like," attempting to dispel misconceptions about what takes place there.

The RTPC considers Section 179(1) of the Criminal Code, which concerns the definition of a common bawdy house, a "vague and archaic law" threatening "the right to privacy of all Canadians." The vague quality of the law is said to allow for wide discretionary power by police in deciding what constitutes 'indecent' sexual activity.

In an effort to combat police harassment of sexual minorities, the RTPC is sponsoring a full-page ad in the national edition of "The Globe and Mail." The RTPC is looking for Canadians to put their name to a list that will appear in the ad demonstrating their support. The ad calls for the repeal of the bawdy house laws as part of the present reform of the Criminal Code, in the belief that the "State has no business in the bedrooms of the nation." To include your name in the list in the ad or to send donations in support of the activities of the RTPC, write to the above address.