Editor, The News:
Re: ‘Shocked’ at sex trade downtown (The News, Aug. 22).
Malcolm Sinclair states that prostitution is “one thing if it’s out of the way … but to have it right in the centre of town, that’s just wrong.”
To which I would ask Mr. Sinclair, where then is it right?
Where in the nether-regions of our city should we push these women, in order that we decent citizens in our nice town can feel comfortably ignorant of the world around us?
The sex trade isn’t new.
It has been around as long as sex has been around, and it will continue to be around until we “decent citizens” can realize how little we are doing to care for our fellow man.
Each of these women is a person, each with their own (probably sad or tragic) story that led them to where they are today.
Each of them in such pain that they feel they have nowhere else to turn for comfort except the escape of drugs, and the prostitution that supports their use of those drugs.
These women need love, care, a reason to hope that their life counts for more than providing sex acts to selfish men.
These women need healing. And where will they find it if our city to turns a blind eye to their imprisonment in a lifestyle that they probably hate more than you do, Mr. Sinclair?
Rather than feeling shocked about what you see downtown, perhaps you should ask yourself how you can be a solution to the problem, and get involved with some of the local agencies that provide caring and options to these women … Alouette Addictions, Cythera House, the Caring Place, or any local church that offers program such as Celebrate Recovery or Freedom Session.
N. Schroeder
Maple Ridge