Editorial
Child sex trafficking is a topic not many people want to talk about these days, but Cathy Peters has done it for the past 11 years in hopes to save just one youth from being exploited.
The long-time educator from Vancouver recently sent the Regional District of East Kootenay a letter asking the board to pressure BC Premier David Eby to repeal the province’s decriminalization of hard drugs. (Adults can legally possess small amounts of illicit drugs such as opioids, cocaine, meth and ecstasy for personal use in specific places.) The province argues that decriminalization is necessary to address the toxic drug crisis since “addiction is a health issue, not a criminal one.”
But Peters believes that normalizing hard drug usage is causing devastating harm, particularly to our youth because sex and drug trafficking go hand in hand. In fact, she says it’s escalating in every corner of B.C. and is the fastest growing crime globally.
Peters is the author of Child Sex Trafficking in Canada and How to Stop It. She has observed five upsetting trends including drug use and exploitation, online ‘sextortion,’ and lack of social media accountability. There is also a lack of education to teach men and boys not to exploit women and girls. The suicide of Canadian teen Amanda Todd is a grim reminder of what can happen when some youth are subject to cyberbullying and sexual exploitation.
Shockingly, the average age of sex trade recruitment is 13, according to Peters, who adds that even 10 and 12-year-old youth are being groomed in cities. She also points out that 50 to 90 per cent of youth in the sex trade are Indigenous.
While the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act became law in 2014, Peters says it is is not enforced in B.C., and until the buyers of sex are deterred, this crime will “continue to explode.” Girls and women in Canada are “not for sale.”
Peters is right when she says communities need to reduce the demand and diminish supply through education and public awareness. She notes that men and boys in Sweden understand gender equality, so prostitution is not accepted or normalized there.
“It is possible to stop sexual exploitation,” she argues. She also believes that an effective deterrent is the school liaison officer program that sees police educate youth on this topic.
“Mass-scale prevention education is needed in this country,” Peters says, adding, “Male buyers from all ages and demographics are the root cause of the harm caused by human trafficking. If there were no buyers there would be no business.”
According to Peters, repealing the decriminalization of hard drugs may curb the new tariffs and show the Trump administration in the US that Canada is serious about stopping the trafficking of these drugs.
Political will is the key. Unfortunately, the RDEK did not act on Peters’ letter or discuss a motion to support it. Lyonel Doherty, editor
