Changing perceptions about sexual exploitation
Posted Mar 7, 2011 2:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A conference this week in Edmonton hopes to shine a light on the various aspects, including the facts and myths, surrounding sexual exploitation.
As part of “Sexual Exploitation Week” in the capital, the “Sexual Exploitation Working Group” (SEWG) hopes to raise awareness about issues like prostitution and human trafficking.
Edmonton Police Constable Michelle Horchuk tells 660News, the argument for legalizing prostitution — with the idea of limiting violence and health issues — is a slippery slope because there’s more to the argument than meets the eye of the average person.
“(A lot of people) who we see involved in prostitution are sexually abused as children,” says Constable Horchuk. “So when you factor that in, it’s tough to see how anybody can see that as a choice.”
Constable Horchuk also points to drug addiction as another huge factor in sexual exploitation.
“Alot of the people you see on the streets, with people buying sex from them,” adds Horchuk, “it’s tough to say those services are being offered voluntarily when you think that the drug addiction is most likely due to mask something that’s happened where they haven’t received the proper help.”
The conference will not only address prostitution, but other aspects of sexual exploitation, such as human trafficking.
“I can tell you that we have had had several human trafficking files, and I believe Edmonton was the first to lay human trafficking charge in Western Canada,” says Horchuk. “And I think that was two years ago.”
The conference runs through March 11th in Edmonton.
