I was just catching up on all this coverage of strip clubs and massage parlours in Saskatchewan. I’m reading everywhere about how they create an environment ripe for human trafficking and the exploitation of women. But you know something I’m not reading?
Quotes from women.
A quick scan of local news gets me a sampling of thoughts and opinions from Premier Brad Wall, NDP leader Cam Broten, Regina Police chief Troy Hagen, Saskatoon Police chief Clive Weighill and Regina mayor Michael Fougere. Dig a little deeper and I find quotes from MLA Rob Norris, Saskatoon detective Tim Filazek, Regina detective Chris Hagen, author Benjamin Perrin as well as reasoned arguments from a male criminologist and a male law professor.
I even found several quotes from a strip club owner — also male. So that would be one of your potential, alleged human traffickers/women exploiters being quoted before a woman ever is.
Finally, I found a Leader Post article that makes a passing mention of former social services minister Donna Harpauer before offering several quotes from Savelia Curniski, the president and founder of NASHI, an organization opposed to human trafficking.
And now, man that I am, I’m posting my own thoughts on this subject.
And I know none of what I write will come as a newsflash to all the women bloggers who’re writing about this issue, but here goes: Do you think maybe the problems of human trafficking and the exploitation of women run a little deeper than strip clubs and massage parlours? Maybe they have more to do with how all the people making laws about women’s bodies and all the people discussing those laws in the media are male?
The system is still dudes from top to bottom. And the system is all about commerce.
So maybe if we’re trying to fix a problem with the system we should try hearing from someone other than a dude.
