On February 28^th, Bill C-2 received Royal Assent and legally raised the age of protection from 14 to 16 years. This day not only marked a historical step towards protecting our youth from adult sexual predators, but also a day of triumph for local political lobbyist, Lisa Brinkerhoff. 

Music video raising awareness of the sexual exploitation of children and youth. For more information, please contact the Onyx Program at onyx@plea.bc.ca. Or visit www.childrenofthestreet.com or www.safeonlineoutreach.com

Sexual exploitation can take many different forms, and you may be surprised to find out that it doesn’t always involve the exchange of sex for money. When we think of sexual exploitation we often think of things like prostitution and pornography, which are one part of sexual exploitation. It can also involve more understated things like the exchange of sexual favours for drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, food, a place to stay, or acceptance into a peer group. All of these practices can be demeaning, degrading, and often life-threatening to the youth who is involved.

Sexual exploitation of youth is against the law! In Canada, anyone under the age of 18 cannot consent to sell their body for sexual purposes. Sexual exploitation is a form of sexual abuse, and is never the fault of the young person involved.

• provides charitable institutional resources for the empowerment, education and recovery of former prostitutes, prostitutes and other sex trade workers;
• to provide, through charitable educational and counselling services, alternatives to prostitution and participation in the sexual trades;
• to solicit, collect, receive, acquire, hold and invest money and property, both real and personal, received by gift, contributing, bequest devised, or others; to sell and convert property, both real and personal, into cash; and to use the funds of this Society, in furtherance of the specific and primary purposes set forth above;
• to do all such things as may be necessary or conducive to the attainment of the aforesaid objects; and
• to operate exclusively for charitable purposes within Canada.