I think that's the key message on who the victims are. When you look at these young people--when we're trying to work with these young people--it's to help them understand that they are being victimized, and that they're not out there by choice, as you mentioned. They are, unfortunately, being preyed upon and recruited into exploitation. I have known kids as young as six or seven who are now adults here in Winnipeg, so it does get younger. And in particular, as mentioned, our aboriginal kids are the ones being preyed upon.
What we have--it's a known fact--are perpetrators who are out there victimizing and looking to exploit our young people, who are going after the aboriginal children rather than other races or cultures, for fear of the children being undercover for police. That is another force driving them to go after the most vulnerable, who are our aboriginal children.
Our children don't want to be out there. Our children are coming up to us and telling us who the perpetrators are...the drug houses, and homes where they've been brought in, and brothels where they've been sexually abused and assaulted. They are telling us, as caregivers, who these people are. But again, because of the law, without that victim's statement there is nothing that can be done to these individuals, so they continuously come out and prey upon our children.