Hello again dear readers,

February 14, 2024, marks the sixth anniversary of the launch of my website in honor of my daughter, Cara, who died a death that no one deserves.

Her young adult life was marred with drug experimentation and intermittent drug-related psychosis  which left her vulnerable to frequent hospitalizations, housing instability,  and exploitation.

Her fun-loving and carefree personality, the undaunted spirit she demonstrated in younger years, were all destroyed by so-called “friends” who did not have her best interests at heart and led her into a dark world from which she was unable to escape.

She disappeared from the streets of Edmonton in 1997, her body found a month later in a field outside the city. The mystery of her disappearance and probable murder is still unsolved.

My mission, in her memory, has been to improve services for other vulnerable and voiceless young people and to help create awareness of the harms of commercial sexual exploitation. This is a social plague which lures many victims to unspeakable trauma and premature death. Cara was recognized as MMIW, a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Woman, part of a national carnage that society is beginning to recognize.

 

I would also like to remember a former friend and colleague, Danielle Boudreau, whom I met in 2006 when she founded the Memorial Walk for the Missing and Murdered Women of Edmonton. The walk, held on Feb 14, was patterned after a similar event  which originated 1992 in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side.

Danielle and I shared many walks, as well as other adventures and advocacy events in the following years. Unfortunately, she too was taken too soon, at age 48, on Nov 6, 2023. RIP Danielle.

 

My website and blog were relatively neglected over the last few years when my attention was focused on “the book.” What started out as a Covid project, homebound as we were for almost two years, became a grueling three-year project with co-author Andrea Heinz as we researched, interviewed, collaborated, consulted, restructured, and conducted multiple edits of our developing manuscript. We are thrilled to have When Men Buy Sex: Who Really Pays? officially published as of Jan 5, 2024.  Further blogs will serve to help promote the book and track our progress.

Many thanks to new and faithful followers. Further info available at whenmenbuysex.ca.