Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Blog”
I’m Wendy Lowe, the new director of Defend Dignity. I’d love to have a coffee and get to know you, but…a blog will have to suffice for the moment! It is a privilege to have been entrusted with the leadership of an organization that profoundly influences all forms of sexual exploitation in Canada. I began my work with Defend Dignity …
This blog post features the summary of a research paper commissioned by Defend Dignity entitled “Sex Buyers Attitudes: A study of Toronto’s ‘Escort Review Board’”. Authored by Defend Dignity volunteers Rock Leung and Mikhaela Beerman-Gray, the paper was recently published in the Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, Vol. 8, No.1. Leung R., & Gray-Beerman M. (2023). Sex buyers’ attitudes: …
This blog post was written by Gerald Chipeur, KC, and Tory Hibbitt. Ontario Superior Court Grapples with Question: How May Parliament Protect Women and Girls from Sexual Exploitation? In 2013, in its landmark decision Canada (Attorney General) v Bedford, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously declared the country’s anti-prostitution law to be unconstitutional because the law violated the rights of …
This guest blog post was written by Trisha Baptie, founder of EVE (formerly Exploited Voices now Educating). Canada is at a very important crossroads right now. The topic? One you might think you know a lot about, informed by mainstream media, yet one you might also feel you have no connection to. Prostitution. One of women’s oldest known oppressions. Lately, …
Written by Arlene Stinson As at Aug. 4, 2022, both Visa and Mastercard have suspended service to the advertising arm of Pornhub, TrafficJunky. This is a major victory for our Choose Change campaign. Advertising is a major source of revenue for porn sites. Defend Dignity has repeatedly asked Mastercard and Visa to cut off this pipeline of profit to sites …
Think of a local business or organization in your neighbourhood that offers free public Wi-Fi. What comes to mind? Maybe it’s a favourite coffee shop, library or community centre. Somewhere you like to relax, get work done, or catch up with a friend. Maybe you’d be surprised to learn that the fight against sexual exploitation includes educating places like these …
This guest blog post was written by Mikhaela Gray-Beerman, an anti-trafficking advocate, researcher, and educator. Author’s Note: I acknowledge that I am not writing this article from the perspective of an individual with lived experience. I recognize the importance of uplifting the voices of those impacted by the sex industry, and I believe that their views are central to our …
We must face reality: kids are being exposed to online pornography and it’s starting at increasingly younger ages. While the exact age of first pornography exposure varies, most anecdotal accounts and studies show between 7-13[i]. And what kind of content are these kids being exposed to? A 2021 study of three of the most popular pornography sites found that 1 …
Written by Arlene Stinson Sugar dating sites connect “sugar daddies” – statistically men over 45 who have disposable income – with “sugar babies” – usually young, financially vulnerable women, such as university students. The marketing strategy of “sugar” sites like Seeking Arrangement or Seeking Benefits is to present themselves as dating sites “with benefits” and a “harmless way to make …
Pornhub and its parent company MindGeek have been on the hot seat both internationally and domestically for hosting and profiting from heinous crimes such as rape, CSAM, sex trafficking, and non-consensual material. MindGeek is facing several lawsuits, service suspensions from credit card providers and an investigation by the House of Commons Ethics Committee. Hundreds of survivors, advocates, and elected officials …
