A lady whose daughter is stuck in the cogs of prostitution and the hell of drugs launches a cry from the heart in the hope of preventing other young women from falling into the trap.
“I know that my daughter will die one day, but if at least I can save others…” breathes Hélène Gagné with emotion.
Her youngest daughter, whom we will call Marie*, was only around twelve years old when she started using drugs. All this, without the knowledge of her mother who worked night shifts in bars and as a hairdresser during the day, being a single parent of two young girls.
Ms. Gagné received threats from pimps with whom her daughter deals.
Photo Stevens LeBlanc
But it was only after a few years that Mme Gagné realized that his daughter was getting up at night to pick his pockets. She was also caught stealing from businesses and convenience stores on a few occasions to meet her consumption needs.
That’s when his mother decided to send him to the youth center.
- Listen to the interview with Hélène Gagné on Sophie Durocher’s microphone via QUB :
“It was the beginning of the end,” sighs Mme Gagné, affirming that it was there that she began to meet people from the world of prostitution.
A hellish cycle
She first ran away from the Youth Center before being found in an escort network in Calgary. Then, she went through cycles of therapy, relapse and prostitution to be able to consume.
Over the years, everything has happened: cannabis, GHB, amphetamine, ecstasy, heroin… Now aged 26, Marie is homeless. Although she remains in contact with her, her mother was forced to kick her out for her own safety.
Hélène Gagné’s daughter regularly has to go to the hospital due to drug overdoses of all kinds.
Photo provided by Hélène Gagné
“When she needs help, I go get her. I take care of her when she makes overdoses every week. I am not capable of abandoning her, I cannot mourn my daughter while she is still alive,” laments Mme Won.
The Prostitution Intervention Quebec Project (PIPQ) has seen plenty of stories like this. The decision to escape must come from the person themselves and cannot be imposed by others, it is explained.
“What we tell loved ones is to remain present and attentive to the person who is immersed in this environment, so that they continue to feel loved, even if the relationship must change for safety. of the parent,” underlines speaker Noémie Tisserant.
The young woman’s mother claims to have already accompanied her to the hospital after finding her beaten and completely naked on a balcony.
Photo provided by Hélène Gagné
Broken family
The longer a person is immersed in a marginalized lifestyle like prostitution, the more difficult it is to escape due to the isolation that results, says Ms.me Weaver.
It is precisely to prevent other young women from making this mistake that Hélène Gagné agreed to tell her story today.
Ms. Gagné hopes that her testimony will open the eyes of certain girls.
Photo Stevens LeBlanc
“I may not save my daughter, but I want things to change. It breaks a family,” she says, assuring that too many pimps take it easy without worrying about the authorities because “the girls are afraid to speak.”
“Crisis centers, hospitals and the police tell me that their hands are tied. It’s not normal,” she adds, a tremor in her voice.
*This is a fictitious name used to protect the identity of the young woman.