Trisha Baptie (born 1973) is a Vancouver-based

citizen journalist Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism or street journalism, is based upon public citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, a ...

and activist for the abolition of

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

Biography

Baptie was first forced into prostitution at the age of 13. This was the beginning of her 15-year period in the sex-industry, both indoor and outdoor, most of which was spent in the Vancouver

Downtown Eastside The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the DTES is the site of a complex set of social issues including disproportionately high levels of drug use, homeles ...

area. At the age of 28, Baptie took the opportunity to exit prostitution. In 2007, Baptie became a

for '' Orato'', an online newspaper, to cover the murder trial 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 ...

, most of whose victims were picked up from the Downtown Eastside. Many of Pickton's victims were known to Baptie. In 2009, Baptie co-founded EVE (formerly Exploited Voices now Educating), a non-profit organization of former sex-industry women dedicated to recognizing prostitution as violence against women and seeking its abolition through political action, advocacy, and public education. In 2009–2010, Baptie was a community mobilizer in the Buying Sex is Not a Sport campaign in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver. She was a focal speaker in the Langara Dialogues, a public forum in which the subjects of prostitution, human trafficking, community responsibility, abolition, legalization, and their ties to the Olympics were discussed and debated. In 2010, Baptie appeared in a documentary film, ''Our Lives to Fight For''. She also joined Christine Barkhouse,

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 ...

, Katarina MacLeod, and

Bridget Perrier Bridget Perrier (born 1977) is an activist and former trafficked prostitute who cofounded Sex Trade 101 with Natasha Falle. She became a child prostitute at the age of 12 while she was staying at a group home and an older girl there persuaded her ...

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 ancho ...

, in picketing the repeal of

prostitution law Prostitution laws varies widely from country to country, and between jurisdictions within a country. At one extreme, prostitution or sex work is legal in some places and regarded as a profession, while at the other extreme, it is a crime pun ...

s. All five women are survivors of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

who had been forced into

prostitution in Canada Current laws passed by the Parliament of Canada in 2014 make it illegal to purchase or advertise sexual services and illegal to live on the material benefits from sex work. The law officially enacted criminal penalties for "Purchasing sexual se ...

. Baptie's life and work are central in the 2013 film ''Buying Sex'', directed by Teresa MacInnes and Kent Nason and facilitated by the

Canadian National Film Board The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary fi ...

Honors and awards

In 2008, Baptie won the Courage to Come Back award.From drugs and sex to a life of hope, The Vancouver Province, April 21, 2008

References

External links

Honour Consulting official websiteEVE official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baptie, Trisha 1973 births Anti-prostitution activists Canadian human rights activists Women human rights activists Canadian investigative journalists Canadian newspaper reporters and correspondents Canadian female prostitutes Canadian women journalists Canadian women's rights activists Child prostitution Crime journalists Human trafficking in Canada Living people Non-fiction crime writers Online journalists Writers from Vancouver Canadian victims of crime Sexual abuse victim advocates Women crime writers Canadian women non-fiction writers