VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – They want prostitution decriminalized, and they’ll get to make their argument in court.

A landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling that came down this morning says a group of sex trade workers from the Downtown Eastside will get a chance to convince a judge that Canada’s bans against bawdy houses, soliciting sex in public, and other parts of the criminal code aren’t constitutional.

Sheryl Kisebach worked in the sex trade for 30 years and has been fighting for this day for the past five years. “Now, finally, I can go to court and tell the judges how these laws affected me and how they continue to affect other sex workers.”

The Supreme Court of Canada voted unanimously in her favour and against the federal government’s. Kisebach is frustrated it took so long to get to this point but hopes the ruling will serve as a message of hope for prostitutes.

“We will sit down with our clients and talk about setting dates to go to trial on the actual issue, which is about how harmful the prostitution laws are for them as active sex workers,” says Katrina Pacey, the lawyer representing the workers.

“This is really a very ‘David and Goliath’ type of situation where you have a small organization and a marginalized group of women up against the federal government,” adds Pacey.

Click here to find the full Supreme Court ruling.