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Women in the polygamous sect of Bountiful, B.C., are exploited and trapped. They require the state's salvation. Or so say the men in government.

This week, the government of B.C. charged two men from Bountiful with the crime of polygamy. The province's Attorney-General, Wally Oppal, justified the charges on the basis of his long-standing commitment to ending the "exploitation" of women in Bountiful. That's consistent with the earlier call by a member of the legislative assembly, Bill Bennett, for action to support women "trapped in this polygamous cult." It's too bad, though, that nobody checked first with community wives and mothers.

The stories of Bountiful's women are rich, complex, sophisticated and diverse. I learned this last summer when I travelled to this community to interview women living there. No one description of "the woman of Bountiful" is possible. She might be mother to many children or just one or two. She might dress traditionally in full-length dresses or she might sport T-shirts and jeans. It is mistaken to view all the community's women as a homogeneous oppressed group.

More specifically, the stories that these women will share, if given the chance, belie the caricature of them as benighted, hidden and subverted. When asked about marriage in their community, they acknowledge that, historically, church leaders matched spouses. But many couples now "court" and have a clear say in whether, when and who they will marry. They insist on reaching at least the legal age for marriage before becoming a spouse. And they reveal that although marriage itself is a bedrock institution within Bountiful, polygamy is not. I was told that three-quarters of couples in Bountiful live monogamously.

The power dynamics in the community are complex. Although sister wives may at times struggle with sharing a husband's time, affection and resources, their relationships are marked by support and solidarity. They refer to one another as "best friends" or "life partners," collaborating on tasks associated with childrearing and domestic management. Their tales also reflect savvy deliberation about maternity and parenting. This community has conventionally resisted contraception. Yet the women know how to work around such constraints. Their stories recognized the relevance of family planning. In particular, midwives acknowledge the toll of childbearing and motherhood. They emphasized the importance of counselling clients about birth-control options that women can use without a husband's consultation or approval.

While many people imagine that women in polygamous marriages are very backward, the women of Bountiful appear modern in several respects. These are women who go to college; take vacations with each other (often without their husbands); manage their families' households and finances, use cellphones, e-mail and the Internet; work within their community or in shops located in neighbouring towns; and drive minivans and tractors. They are, in many ways, quite ordinary. Little here suggested captivity or coercion, or that the women as a group were trapped and exploited.

As in any community, there may be vulnerability, exploitation and cases of abuse in Bountiful. But the practice of plural marriage does not seem to be the cause of systemic exploitation. The women of Bountiful acknowledged this, insisting that if there is evidence of abuse and exploitation in their community, it should be investigated and prosecuted. But they reject the assumption that these ills are inherent to polygamous life. It is thus hard to see how prosecuting polygamists is going to benefit any women who might actually need help. The polygamy offence is distinct from laws against sexual exploitation and sex with minors. It makes it a crime for anyone, man or woman, to enter into "any kind of conjugal union with more than one person at the same time." Enforcing the criminal law against polygamy risks imprisoning not only the women's husbands, but also them. If the government starts enforcing this rule, all the women in plural marriages, like Winston Blackmore and James Oler, face the risk of up to five years imprisonment.

Conversations with the women of Bountiful reveal some important resemblances to women in broader Canadian society. This makes it far more difficult to rationalize the ongoing criminalization of the lifestyle adopted by some in Bountiful. (The question of recognition of plural unions as legal marriages is another matter.) But hearing the accounts of wives and mothers in plural marriage is essential. Only then can lawmakers and courts fully assess the propriety of the criminal law's current approach to polygamy.

Angela Campbell is a professor and director of the Institute of Comparative Law at McGill University.