RICHMOND, B.C. — Some of those who have told their harrowing stories at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls have since redoubled that courage by taking their complaints to police, getting treatment, or reuniting with family, said the head of the inquiry. Marion Buller said in an interview with The…
Category: Human Rights
Activist tells inquiry that women working in Vancouver sex trade were seen as ‘disposable’
A Vancouver sex-trade activist recounted the justice system’s failure to protect women who were killed or have disappeared as posters of missing persons were shown on screens Wednesday at a national inquiry. Jamie Lee Hamilton said sex workers from Vancouver’s “Downtown Eastside killing fields” deserved better. “I feel that the women were deemed as disposable,”…
B.C. outreach group hopes smartphone app will improve safety of sex workers
VANCOUVER—An outreach group supporting vulnerable women in British Columbia is hoping a cellphone app designed to monitor remote workers in resource industries will help keep sex workers safe. Hope Outreach, a non-profit group that provides support to homeless and exploited women in Kelowna, is partnering with the makers of YodelMe to launch a pilot project…
Some sex workers choose industry due to benefits of occupation: study
Some sex workers are choosing the industry because it can be more lucrative and rewarding than low-paying service industry jobs, says a recent study by a researcher at the University of Victoria. Prof. Cecilia Benoit, a scientist at the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C., said she’s heard a variety of reasons why sex workers…
Male sex workers in Vancouver feel safer on the internet than on the street
A study on male sex workers in Vancouver has found that although the move to selling sex online rather than on the streets improved safety, a recent law prohibiting the advertisement of sex online may be driving the industry further underground. The study by the B.C. Centre of Excellence in HIV/AIDS and the outreach program Hustle surveyed 39 men…
Uganda’s youth are choosing peace hashtags over violence as elections loom
KAMPALA — At a bustling Kampala market, Desire Karakire listens to a group of young men express their frustrations over the state of their country. Like most of their peers, they’re underemployed and extremely poor—and they feel the only way the situation will change is through violent revolution. “Leadership involves blood,” says Richard Ssenyoga, 23….
How Uganda’s economy has received a boost from hosting refugees
On a small farm in northwestern Uganda, Nyantet Malual proudly shows off the cow she bought with earnings from her last harvest. The ability to own property and provide for her family was only a dream for the South Sudanese refugee when she arrived in the country two years ago. “Now I’m sitting here, I…
Out of the shadows
In rural West Africa, this treatment takes its most violent form with those suffering from mental disorders often left outdoors in the elements, chained to trees for years on end and regularly whipped to force “evil spirits” to leave their bodies. — ALJAZEERA
Discussing end-of-life care with family invaluable, experts say
Death isn’t a typical topic of conversation at the dinner table for most families. But in the event a person is nearing death and can no longer voice their wishes, their family is often left guessing what their loved one’s wishes would be.