Every year since 2009, March 4th has been designated as World Day of the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation. Today, Juste Pour Elles St. Michel teamed up with Montreal Photographer Yanissa GP in the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation.
Juste Pour Elles Stand Against Sexual Exploitation
“Although there are exceptions, sexual exploitation overwhelmingly involves women and children, and it is a worldwide problem. It is estimated that every second of the day an average of eight women, girls and often young boys, are trapped by international criminal networks where the sole aim is to sexually exploit them, traffic them and enslave them.
Sexual exploitation robs of basic human rights, including the right to freedom, dignity, the right to live where they choose and the right to control their own bodies.
Although the problem is worldwide, some places are more vulnerable than others. These include areas in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and some Latin American and Caribbean countries. Trafficked individuals from these areas are generally taken to destination countries in the so-called developed world for the purposes of prostitution”.
QUEBEC’S FIGHT AGAINST SEXUAL EXPLOITATION
With a surge in the headlines, Quebec can no longer ignore its sexual exploitation problem. Just this past February, youth protection and public security ministers unveiled new measures to tackle teen prostitution in Quebec.
In a new, five-year $3 million project called Prévention Jeunesse, the Quebec government have designed a new system to increase communication between all sides in the world of youth protection.
Quebec injects $3 million to fight sexual exploitation of runaway teens- Global News
While this is seen on media, the reality remains different. As of recent, most prevention and intervention programs are underfunded due to program cuts and heavily sanctioned bureaucratic requirements that is in some cases, is the cause of the funding cuts.
JUSTE POUR ELLES AT RISK OF BEING EXTINGUISHED
Yesterday, Slayedit New York sat with one of Juste Pour Elles Program Director Emillie Montanak, recently seen in the media for her petition to save the Juste Pour Elles Program geared towards sexual exploitation prevention. Funded by the Fondation Canadienne des Femmes, their program is running out of money, and faces the possibility of being obliterated. Their funding was cut by $60,000 last year, and another $80,000 this year.
The reason: the girls in the program do not meet bureaucratic guidelines. In other words, they considered : “in between”.
As a prevention program, they work at prevention. Prevention means for these young girls: staying off the streets, the program keeps them busy whereas they would be occupied by the risk of being preyed upon, and most importantly, Juste Pour Elles gives these young girls a sense of belonging.
Some of the particpants of the program have already expressed angst the thought of the program’s closure. So, what is Quebec doing? What will happen to these girls if this program is indeed ceases to exist? Hopefully, Quebec would not have cultivated and harnessed a possible at risk youth.
Oh no. Not Quebec.
Written by: @petronajoseph_
Photos by: Yanissa GP
Article Sources:
Global News
RCMP Statistics
For more information on the Juste Pour Elles Program visit:
