When we talk about reducing risks.... I'll talk about the study I have completed. It was a fairly small sample of about 60 women involved in prostitution across the prairie provinces. We also surveyed 173 service providers who provided services, both state-mandated and non-governmental organizations who provided services, mostly for young people involved in prostitution. We did 43 site visits. They were trying to develop some best practices kinds of models.
There were three things that women who are involved in the sex trade talked about as reasons for why they became involved. First and foremost, it was money. It was an easy way to make money. That would go to the fact of sustainable incomes for individuals. There is a risk factor--sustainable incomes. We know poverty is related to these particular instances.
The subculture that all of the women talked about was in many cases the lack of a loving relationship growing up and finding that loving relationship on the street. Interestingly, for 70% of the young women we talked to, the reason they came to work on the street was through aunts and friends. So we didn't find the big, bad pimping issue. Now that could have been a result of the sample we spoke with.
The subculture also means a risk. That certainly points us to the community building kinds of aspects in all of the programs that everybody here is talking about.
In terms of program use, all of the women said they would avoid using state-centred services. As young people, they were very hesitant to become involved in, and had bad experiences when they were involved in, child welfare agencies, but tended to gravitate towards programs that were harm reduction based. This is where they could go and get condoms and clean needles and where they could go and just talk to somebody, not necessarily an official program, but the door was always open and they could come and go as they pleased. Those programs were the ones that were the most insecurely funded.
By the time we had actually finished our study, 20 of the 43 programs had lost their funding. Those were the programs that were the most often used, whereas the child welfare.... Interestingly, in this particular timeframe, the Protection of Children Involved in Prostitution Act in Alberta came into effect and the sexual exploitation program in Ontario was in its last reading. I know Manitoba had a very different approach in developing the healthy child initiative, which was a different approach in terms of certainly the Alberta model.