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Resources needed to address exploitation, trafficking crisis in city: Advocates | Spare News

Brandon advocates say more are needed to address the exploitation and trafficking of Indigenous women and youth in the city.

The issue has been under the spotlight since Winnipeg police announced earlier this week that they believe the remains of two Indigenous women are in a nearby landfill.

Police say they believe the women, Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, along with two others, Rebecca Contois and an unidentified woman that Indigenous leaders have called Buffalo Woman, were victims of an alleged serial killer, Jeremy Skibicki, who has since been charged with their murders.

Family members and Indigenous leaders are calling on Winnipeg police to search the landfill for the remains, but police have so far refused, citing logistical issues and safety concerns.

The exploitation and trafficking of Indigenous people is at a crisis point in Brandon, said Lisa Noctor, but it's something that people either aren't aware of or don't like to think about.

“People sometimes believe that it's not a reality here,” said Noctor, co-ordinator for the Brandon Friendship Centre's Gakina Abinoojiiyag Program (GAP), a federally funded youth outreach initiative.

Noctor, who is also the co-chair of Westman Team Against Sexual Exploitation, said there's a misconception that the people who are being exploited or trafficked are doing it willingly or are drug addicts. “There's all these excuses for why it's OK that it's happening to the people that it's happening to here in Brandon.”

GAP is mandated to work with youth ages 13 to 29 to prepare them for the transition to adulthood through a youth homelessness prevention program. It also connects youth with different systems and agencies involved in education, employment, cultural and housing programming.

It's incredibly important to reach young people before they end up on the streets, Noctor said, because the odds are more stacked against them once they become vulnerable. Systems of support, including safe housing and preventing abusers from returning to their community, need to be in place so victims can safely report their abusers.

“It's very much a life-or-death situation. It's very much a dangerous thing to do, and if we cannot set up systems that support young people to speak out against those who are trafficking and exploiting them … they can't speak out,” Noctor said.

Debbie Huntinghawk, a program co-ordinator with the Brandon Friendship Centre, said retroactive action is not enough to dismantle exploitation or the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).

Although Indigenous women make up only four per cent of Canada's female population, 16 per cent of all women murdered in Canada between 1980 and 2012 were Indigenous, according to the Manitoba government's website. In 2017, 24 per cent of female homicide victims in Canada were Indigenous women and girls.

Prevention is key, Huntinghawk said, adding the federal and provincial governments must increase their support of programs that promote safety among women and girls.

“Where's the money to keep these programs running? Where's the programs for youth? That's where we need it. We don't need [money] for more jails, more treatment centres. We need it before it gets to that point.”

The Friendship Centre runs beading groups, art classes and other initiatives for women. It's these programs that are not only keeping women off the streets but teaching them to take pride in their identity and giving them productive activities to do, Huntinghawk said.

“We have a smaller community, so we can look after each other. We know the women that come through our doors, and we know where they go for services.”

Smaller communities, however, are often targeted by people looking to bring women and children into human trafficking and exploitation, according to Cora McGuire-Cyrette, executive director of the Ontario Native Women's Association, the largest and longest-running Indigenous women's agency in Canada.

“Children and girls are being moved from the smaller communities into the larger urban centres. Any of the small communities out there need to be looking at community safety plans, particularly … how they are including Indigenous women and girls' safety.”

McGuire-Cyrette would like to see Manitoba and other provinces follow in the footsteps of Ontario's anti-human-trafficking strategy, which she said was developed with Indigenous partners and survivors.

“We're now providing the largest Indigenous anti-human-trafficking program in Canada, and we were able to support last year 315 Indigenous children and women to safely exit from human trafficking.”

Ontario is investing $307 million between 2020-25 in the new strategy, including resources for Indigenous children and youth in care and leaving care and Indigenous-led supports for survivors and at-risk youth, the province's website says.

In Manitoba, an updated review of the province's efforts toward addressing MMIWG is currently underway as the government works to develop a framework for fighting gender-based violence.

The province has also partnered with Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre in Winnipeg and Manitoba Status of Women to support the co-development of an implementation plan to raise and end violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people.

The office of Alan Lagimodiere, Manitoba's minister of Indigenous reconciliation, declined an interview request, citing a provincial “blackout” due to the Kirkfield Park byelection in Winnipeg.

On Tuesday, a joint statement from Premier Heather Stefanson and Families Minister Rochelle Squires said the province recognizes that gender-based violence is a reality in Manitoba, and that the province has some of the highest rates of gender-based violence across Canada.

“The recent murders of three Indigenous women and another unidentified woman are important reminders that there is so much work that needs to be done to address gender-based violence in our province,” the statement read. “These women are not just statistics; they are mothers, daughters, beloved family members and friends and deserve to live a life of violence.”

The Brandon Police Service, Manitoba RCMP and federal representatives didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original location.

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PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.

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EYES ON TRAFFICKING

This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original online location.

ABOUT PBJ LEARNING

PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials online course is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.

More stories like this can be found in your PBJ Learning Knowledge Vault.