Series ‘unfortunate tendency to run away”: a lot of calls from parents in distress

VAT New

Sunday, 18 February 2018 11:46

UPDATE
Sunday, 18 February 2018 11:49

Look at this article

Whereas the distribution of the series “.” on the TVA causes a lot of concern among many parents, an organization that helps women who are victims of sexual exploitation claims for a greater help from the government.

The Concertation of struggles against sexual exploitation (CLES) claims to be “overwhelmed” with requests to help, without having the necessary support to ensure the continuation of its activities.

“We help women who are in prostitution, who are trying to get out of, and which are outputs,” explains Martine B. Hand, director of the organization that offers a legal support, psychological, as well as help to find a job and a home.

The requests of parents concerned are, among others, many since the release of “.”.

“A lot more calls, a lot of anxiety, a lot of distress as parents. The parents who call us these days, are the parents of young girls of 18-19 years of age who do not have the recourse that the parents of the minor. This is not the ideal of the youth centres, the youth protection officer, but, at least, the parents of minors have this recourse. When your daughter was 18-19-20 years old, the parents tell us that they do not know what to do and, in fact, it is very unsettling for parents to have the impression of losing contact with their daughter,” says coté.

“We also have many calls from women who have left prostitution […] and, again, looking at the series, reliving flashbacks, have injuries,” she adds.

CLES, who has no financial support to be recurring on the part of Québec, would like to see the government finance and implement concrete measures for the victims of sexual exploitation.

“Erase the criminal record, reduce the debt, reduce access to social assistance, providing shelter to a woman… It is often that the key […] to rebuild an identity,” explains Martine B. Side, adding that only 35% of women manage to get out as soon as their first attempt.

“The government should provide measures to support the exit to the women and give us the means to do our mission every day. You never know, from year to year, if we are going to be able to function and it is like that since 12 years,” she concludes.