Here is more hysteria about prostitution during GP Week from Thursday's Journal de Montreal (translated by Google). There is no evidence that young girls from the hinterlands of Quebec are running away to become prostitutes during GP Week. As has been noted, this is part of a propaganda and funding campaign by anti-prostitution groups, the media and the Quebec government.
When the propagandists demanded a response from the promoter of the F1 race, François Dumontier, he issued an old statement that he had used before. Even he is getting tired of this annual ritual.
Many girls from across Quebec traveled to Montreal just in time for the Grand Prix to prostitute themselves to meet the demand, worry experts in the prevention of sexual exploitation.
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“Every year, we see them disappear at the same time, to go to Montreal. Currently, I know girls who are there, ”launched a worker at CALACS Agression Estrie, Marie-Michèle Whitlock.
At the same time, she also noticed an “almost systematic” increase in the number of young girls running away. According to her, this problem affects all regions of Quebec.
Women from other provinces are also likely to be there.
“It is known that women or adolescent girls already in the sex industry move. Events that bring a lot of people, it brings girls,” added Ms. Whitlock .
two for one
Certainly, if the Canadian Grand Prix is so associated with prostitution, it is because it is one of the first major events of the summer in Montreal. But also because it is associated with glam, parties and money, insisted the speaker.
“We will not be an ostrich. Yes people go to F1 because they are fans, but for many it's a two for one, it's an opportunity to buy sex,” she said.
And for many girls, this festive weekend is a gateway. “There is a lot of money and we are normalizing commodification,” denounced agent Fannie Perras of the Longueuil Agglomeration Police Department.
She also assures that a work plan is in place for the whole weekend, knowing that many F1 fans will be staying on the South Shore, given its proximity to the site of the Canadian Grand Prix.
In addition, training for hoteliers, offered by the Phare des Affranchies, has been set up by the Ministry of Tourism, so that employees react if they witness sexual exploitation.
"So we give them knowledge and resources to act without harming them," explained Nathalie Khlat, co-founder and executive director of the organization that fights against sexual exploitation.
Training for festivals
Last month, around thirty hotels already took part in training organized in collaboration with the Montreal police, assured the president and CEO of the Hotel Association of Greater Montreal, Jean-Sébastien Boudreault.
“It helps to detect the symptoms, to know what to do. Nor should you cry wolf every time an older man comes in with a young girl,” he said.
Training is also developed for major festivals and events, including one set up by Tourisme Montréal.
“It is inconceivable that sex tourism and Montreal coexist in the same sentence. It is crucial that the entire industry does its part for a destination free of abuse and violence,” said the organization's spokesperson, Aurélie de Blois.
Questioned on this subject, the Octane Racing Group, promoter of the Grand Prix in Montreal, refused to answer our questions on the measures taken to educate its customers about sexual exploitation.
The organization contented itself with emailing an old statement from François Dumontier recalling that he “continues to support the initiatives of local authorities to fight against all forms of sexual exploitation, violence or harassment”.
