Bridget Perrier (born 1977) is an activist and former trafficked prostitute who cofounded Sex Trade 101 with

Natasha Falle Natasha Falle (born 1973) is a Canadian professor at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who was forcibly prostituted from the ages of 15 to 27 and now opposes prostitution in Canada. Falle grew up in a middle-class home and, when her p ...

. She became a

child prostitute Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child ...

at the age of 12 while she was staying at a

group home A group home, congregate living facility, or care home (the latter especially in British English and Australian English) is a residence model of medical care for those with complex health needs. Traditionally, the model has been used for children ...

and an older girl there persuaded her to become a runaway in order to sell sex to a

pedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

named Charlie. She had a son, Tanner, who developed cancer as an infant and died at the age of five with the dying wish that his mother get out of the

sex industry The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...

. In 2000, she moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

from

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. She is the

stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a non-biological female parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. Culture Step ...

of Angel, whose

biological mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gesta ...

was Brenda Wolfe, one of

Robert Pickton Robert William "Willy" Pickton (born October 24, 1949) is a Canadian serial killer and former pig farmer. He is suspected of being one of the most prolific serial killers in Canadian history. After dropping out of school, Pickton left a butcher ...

's murder victims. In 2009, Perrier accompanied Angel at Toronto's Native Women's Resource Centre for the Sisters in Spirit

vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' ( Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become gener ...

in remembrance of Wolfe and the other more than 500 Canadian Aboriginal

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

who have been murdered or gone missing over the past 30 years. In 2010, Perrier picketed a courthouse in

downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Str ...

in recognition of

International Day of No Prostitution International Day of No Prostitution (IDNP) is an awareness day celebrated to oppose the practice of sex work. First observed in 2002, the event takes place annually on the 5th of October. History The IDNP was first observed in 2002; during its ...

. She was joined by Trisha Baptie, Natasha Falle, Katarina MacLeod, and Christine Barkhouse, all former human trafficking victims. In 2012, after being removed from a news conference relating to '' Bedford v. Canada'', Perrier demonstrated a pimp stick to the media, saying that she had been battered with a pimp stick by her pimp every day that he prostituted her. Perrier opposed the

legalization Legalization is the process of removing a legal prohibition against something which is currently not legal. Legalization is a process often applied to what are regarded, by those working towards legalization, as victimless crimes, of which one ...

of brothels as proposed in ''Bedford v. Canada'', saying, "Having a legal bawdy house is not going to make it any safer. You are still going to attract serial killers, rapists, perverts." Bridget shared her story in the ground breaking article by Dr. Vincent J. Felitti in Cancer InCytes magazine (Volume 2, Issue 1) about how childhood trauma is associated with chronic diseases during adulthood, and how child trafficking will eventually worsen the economic burden on civil governance.Vincent J. Felitti. "Childhood Trauma Linked to Chronic Diseases in Adulthood." Cancer InCytes 2(2), 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perrier, Bridget Living people 1977 births Anti-prostitution feminists Canadian human rights activists Women human rights activists Canadian female prostitutes Human trafficking in Canada People from Thunder Bay Activists from Toronto Canadian victims of crime Sexual abuse victim advocates Sexual harassment in Canada Forced prostitution Child prostitution Anti-pedophile activism Victims of underage prostitution