I Met With My MP — Here’s How It Went

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You’ve often heard us encourage you to talk with your MP about the issues Defend Dignity is working on. Sound kind of intimidating? It really doesn’t have to be! Summer is often a great time to connect with your MP in a casual setting. You might see them flipping pancakes or frying hamburgers at various community events. They would love …

Casting Stones Across the Waters

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Have you ever skipped a stone on a lake? Maybe you’re pretty good at this quintessential summertime activity. How many skips can you get? I learned recently that the world record for competitive stone skipping (yes, it’s a thing) is 88 skips. Now that’s a lot!  Of course, we’ve all experienced the flip side of that world record — where …

Prostitution, Demand, and Violence Against Women

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This brief was submitted by Defend Dignity to the UN’s Human Rights Council in June 2024. It was submitted in response to an invitation for input on this report by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls; a report that examines violence against women and girls as a form, cause and consequence of prostitution.   Input for …

The internet is useful, but how can we make it safer?

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February 6th is Safer Internet Day, a day marked annually to raise awareness for a safer and better internet. These days most of us are “plugged in” to the internet each day for various tasks, whether it’s for work, school, productivity, or connection to others. The United Nations has long recognized the usefulness of the internet for education, community, and …

Sex Buyers Attitudes: A Study of Toronto’s “Escort Review Board”

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“Sex Buyers Attitudes” is a Defend Dignity-commissioned research paper that set out to gather data on Canadian sex buyers and how they view those they are purchasing for sex. This data set provides important insights into how buyers think and communicate, and further underscores the role demand plays in driving prostitution. Below is a summary of the research paper which …

Protect children from porn content

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This Op-Ed was written by Defend Dignity’s Jenna Scholz and was originally published in the Toronto Star on March 16, 2023. The internet wasn’t designed with children’s safety in mind. Yet in this digital age that’s exactly where they’re spending time — for school, socialization and entertainment. As you read this, children are being exposed to graphic sexually explicit material …

Ontario Superior Court Grapples with Question: How May Parliament Protect Women and Girls from Sexual Exploitation?

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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 …

The Dangers of Full Decriminalization

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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, …

Victory! Visa and Mastercard cut ties with TrafficJunky/MindGeek

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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 …

Choose Change 2022: Inspire Change Locally!

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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 …