Winnipeg: Worst city in Canada for Human Trafficking.

[wayward_prince]

Originally Posted by The Jabroni

What else ISN'T new in Winnipeg?

It's a serious issue, but in the end, so what!? Human trafficking in general needs to stop, as well as x amount of crimes that are going on. It just happens that Winnipeg was mentioned, and some bloke like wayward would show up and dog the sh*t out of us because we're in the news.

There are far worse things in the world than this, like people dying in poor countries, etc. Why don't we focus on that for a change!?

/topic

Yawn Heal thyself

[Reed Solomon]

is there any correlation between this and slurpee consumption?

makes you think!

[UrbanPlannerr]

It seems a lot of these type of scenarios start with drugs.... also, wow human trafficking for Winnipeg has gone online... wtf?

[UrbanPlannerr]

Originally Posted by wayward_prince

Yawn Heal thyself

btw, I am not sure if making this type of joke about such human suffering is appropriate...

[sledhead35]

CELLPHONES are being distributed to some Winnipeg sex-trade workers and homeless women in the hopes that being able to call 911 will keep them safe from the violence they encounter almost daily.

The program is run by Sage House, a women's drop-in centre in the North End. Individuals and businesses donated about 60 phones to the centre for the program's launch Friday.

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Sage House program manager Tammy Reimer said an employee, Kathleen Shellrude, came up with the idea after realizing that cellphones can still dial 911 even if the owner isn't paying for a phone plan, as long as the phone is charged.

That means the phones Sage House is handing out can only make emergency calls.

Concern about the safety of Sage House clients has grown recently as a number of women involved in the sex trade have gone missing or been found slain, Reimer said.

But sex-trade workers are targets of other forms of violence almost every day, she said.

"Those are not the ones that hit the front of the paper, but it's an ongoing part of their lives," she said, explaining johns often sexually or physically abuse the women.

"We've had numerous stabbings," she said.

In some cases, women have reported being thrown out of moving vehicles or jumping out because they fear for their safety.

Cheryl, a former sex-trade worker who asked that her last name not be published, shuddered as she recalled an incident a few years ago when a man and a woman in a car beckoned her over.

"When I approached the vehicle, they Maced me," she recalled. Some bystanders came to her aid and scared the couple away.

Cheryl didn't have a cellphone at the time, but later bought one -- though she said most street-involved women can't afford a phone.

Always having her cellphone when she was working -- tucked under her shirt and secured in place by her bra strap -- made her feel safer, she explained.

Reimer admitted the cellphone project is not an ultimate solution to helping the city's most vulnerable women.

"We talk a lot about the North End and how unsafe it is," Reimer explained. "It's not North End men perpetrating this violence, it's men from the suburbs."

"(A cellphone) is a part of keeping the women safe, but it is not stopping the men who are driving into the North End and perpetrating violence."

Shellrude was at Sage House on Friday to help hand out the phones.

By 2 p.m., about 10 women had dropped by to pick up their new cellphones and chargers, bundled together inside a plastic bag.

Shellrude smiled as she recalled the comment from one woman, who told her "this could save my life one day."

[sledhead35]

i understand the goal here and it brings a tear to my eye, but come on. i was thinking we should go a step further and pair every prostitute with a body gaurd as well. think of the tax money we will be spending when 911 calls (valid or not)spike on the weekends. then what?

[vid]

911 calls always spike on the weekends. They spiked to over 125 on Saturday here (which I think they said is a record?).

[sledhead35]

i cant imagine this will help that spike. half the people you see in the ER waiting room at the HSC are just looking for a warm place to stay. im just saying, although its a great idea in theory i see it backfiring in reality. plus it goes along the same lines as welfare;rewarding people for their "less than ideal" lifestyle.

[vid]

To receive welfare that is high enough to live on, you have to either have some sort of disability that prevents you from working, or be able to prove you're looking for work. It isn't like they just get cheques and sit on their ass 100% of the time.

Accountability should be improved, though.

[sledhead35]

point taken.i guess what im trying to get at is that i think the current mentality towards criminals and chronically unemployed does nothing but empower that lifestyle. look at our "rehabilitation" centers, they call them jails in the states. as hard as i try i cannot begin to understand why somebody WOULDNT want to break the law and live comfortably for free.

welfare, i admit i know very little about but look around you and you will see a handful of people abusing the system.

i should mention that both of these examples can, and must have turned lives around. systems are in place because they either have or do work better than other options; pros and cons on both sides of the fence. but its very easy to become, dare i say bitter, towards a system where one's hard earned cash goes towards "rewarding" another person's complete disregard for the society they are a part of.

and thats my rant for the day.

[1ajs]

when u see the trash that abuse the system u become realy bitter towards it lol seen lots of that just look at any manitoba housing complex now theres people in them that need it but theres others that just plane trash them and abuse them get them outa the system or mothball it

[vid]

Many aspects of the welfare system are set up to trap people in it. It's especially bad with aboriginals where our laws are basically written so that they have little choice but welfare. That has to change.

[grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by vid

Many aspects of the welfare system are set up to trap people in it. It's especially bad with aboriginals where our laws are basically written so that they have little choice but welfare. That has to change.

I really don't buy that. Anyone with real ambition can lift themselves from the despair of poverty. It happens all the time.

We need to distinguish the various users of welfare. There are those that absolutely genuinely need it. For those people the social safety net could probably do more.

Then there are those that abuse the system. The multi-generational welfare abusers. Those that could work but choose not to. Those that pop out babies like pez dispensers. Those that drink and smoke while the children eat junk. Or not at all.

We empower too many by allowing this abuse. There are jobs out there. There are schools out there. If you are on welfare the very least you can do is get an education. That is the first step in lifting oneself out of the "trap" that is welfare.