RSVP today for the “What can we do in Winnipeg to stop sex trafficking?” community forum
UW RELEASE – 2014/076
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Friday, May 8, 2014
WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg Global College is hosting a guest lecture on May 13th at 6 p.m. by Winnipeg Police Chief Devon Clunis, followed by a panel of police officers and community leaders ‘on the front lines’ in our city. This Tuesday evening class is open to the public as part of the Global College course: Sex Trafficking: Global to Local Dimensions. The course is aptly timed as Canada is in the process of re-examining its legal framework due to a recent Supreme Court decision in the ‘Bedford’ case striking down most of the criminal law sanctions against prostitution, which is having an effect on efforts to counter sexual exploitation, including sex trafficking.
“The essence of trafficking is coercion to sell sex,” says Prof. Marilou McPhedran, who directs this course and the Institute for International Women’s Rights. “But coercion takes many forms and when sexually exploited youth are involved, it is by definition trafficking – never ‘consensual prostitution.’ We’ve brought in an international expert on the ‘Nordic model’ from Sweden, Gunilla Ekberg, as the primary instructor for this course so our students and the public have the most accurate and up-to-date information available.”
Winnipeg Police Chief Devon Clunis will give the opening lecture at 6 p.m. on the leadership and community engagement required to implement the shifts in policy and practice that are underway.
The community forum is open to the public, and will start at 6 p.m. on Tuesday May 13, in The University of Winnipeg’s Manitoba Hall, room 2M70. Please RSVP by phone at 204-988-7105, or email at global.college@uwinnipeg.ca.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Megan Benedictson, Communications Officer, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7129, E: me.benedictson@uwinnipeg.ca
