Activists against sexual exploitation disrupted the Grand Prix festivities on Saturday, chanting “buying sex is not a sport, buying sex is a crime” in front of bewildered passers-by.
Crude and disturbing film scenes Noémie says yeswhich descends into the hells of prostitution, were shown on the big screen.
The feature film tells the story of a 15-year-old teenager who, after running away from her youth center, ends up agreeing to prostitute herself during the Grand Prix weekend. A decision she will end up bitterly regretting.
“Unfortunately it is a story that is quite common, deplores the director, Geneviève Albert. That is to say that several girls make their entry into prostitution during the Grand Prix because there is so much demand for sexual services that there is a lot of supply to fill”, develops the one who organized the action with the Concertation of the fights against sexual exploitation.
“As the Grand Prix does nothing to educate its clientele about prostitution, well I decided that we were going to invite each other then that we were going to come to this artery which is at the heart of the festivities”, adds- she.
Be careful, “not everyone is a customer, not all men, but there are sure to be some among us at the moment”, says Geneviève Albert. “So the idea was to meet them”.
” Do part of it “
“I’m not going to buy girls. I walk, I look at the cars and I go home”, quickly comments Djamal Abide, who says he is “sensitive to the cause because[il a] two girls. »
Matthew stopped for a long time to observe the scene. ” I’m happy that [ce genre d’action militante] take place to raise awareness and make people think twice about this event”.
“It makes me immensely happy that my film is the trigger for discussions around prostitution, and then perhaps even for awareness. That was kind of the idea, ”reacted the director Ms. Albert.
The British Columbia teacher, however, cannot decide whether to cancel the event. According to him, it is the organizers of the Grand Prix and the government who should raise awareness among spectators. The pilots, who are “the idols of so many people” would also have their role to play.
Anis also stopped to look at the twenty or so activists, among whom were present the main actors of the film. “I’m a fan of cars, but not of everything that happens [au Grand Prix]. We can take things into account,” he replies when asked if the issue tints his passion for the event.
“Change lens”
If the director has nothing “against car racing as such”, activist survivor Valérie Pelletier believes that the culture of sporting events “is strongly associated with the commodification of women’s bodies. It’s not long since the Grand Prix committed to stop taking pitounes to present the tanks. »
Ms. Pelletier is especially fed up with people thinking that prostitution “can be a choice like any other. We have to stop talking about women, we have to talk about the right of men to buy us. People will tell you that you’re “putophobic” or that you tell women what to do with their bodies, but that’s not the real point. […] Me, I was the supposed happy willing bitch then, look, I’m scrap the same. “.
The one who was in the sex industry twenty years ago believes that there is still “a lot of work to do. This is confirmed when we hear the words of certain passers-by, sighing a “good, good, good” or joyfully singing “olé, olé, olé, olé, olé” in front of the activists.
“We are aware that this is a long-term fight”, sums up Valérie Pelletier. It will have been enough to move away a few streets to see a man, visibly in his fifties and proudly wearing a Grand Prix cap, calling out to a young stranger in English. “Hey, pretty girl, come over here. »