The return of the Grand Prix to Montreal after two years of pandemic is felt in the sexual offer on the web: not only has the number of ads exploded, but they are available on various platforms accessible to everyone.
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“Before, we mainly had to go through specialized sites, but this year, it’s everywhere, everywhere, everywhere. I’ve seen it on Facebook, on Twitter, elsewhere on social media. I’m fascinated, I’ve never seen that,” says retired policeman Paul Laurier.
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For years, the president of the security firm Vigiteck has been using software to find sexual offers that abound on the internet.
Screenshot taken from the web
Mr. Laurier has just listed no less than 30,000 active escort ads. In other years, the week before the Grand Prix, we were talking about more than 10,000 offers.
For 2022, it was not possible to compare with the last months, since public events, which have a great impact on the demand for sexual services, have just started again. And if the number of ads has increased so much, does that mean that more women are selling their sexual services? Not necessarily, he says.
Indeed, it is rather the use of social networks and the purchase of keywords on search engines that have exploded the offer for a week. “The same girls are multiplying everywhere,” he notes.
However, in Montreal, it has never been complicated to order sexual services. But the men mainly traded on the sites of massage parlors or escort agencies, choosing the girl according to her physical criteria, her nationality, her age or … according to the nearby metro station, notes Mr. Laurier.
“We will see the same ad on a classifieds site, on the girl’s personal site, on a forum, on Facebook or elsewhere on social networks, explained Mr. Laurier. They have multiplied the domains, they have updated themselves.”
Screenshot taken from the web
And if the supply is already considerable, it could increase further.
“The highlight will be today or tomorrow, when we will see the girls from elsewhere appear,” warns the retired policeman, in reference to young women exiled in other provinces or in the United States usually repatriated to Montreal. Formula 1 weekend time.
And there is no doubt that demand will be there after a two-year forced break, said criminologist Maria Mourani.
Screenshot taken from the web
“They will come from all over the world. There will be an influx of tourists, all pimps will converge on F1 to sell their products and to recruit,” she said.
Experts worry that many attempted sexual solicitations are popping up on social media, even in unexpected places like Facebook self-help groups.
“I have never been so afraid for young girls. It gives the impression that men are on fire, there is solicitation everywhere,” laments Rose Sullivan, a worker with victims of sexual exploitation.
She says she has witnessed solicitation for sexual services, particularly on Facebook, in a student job search group, or even in self-help groups.
“A lady who asked for help to get to the end of the month was offered by a man to be paid in exchange for sex,” she denounces.
“Survivors [de l’exploitation sexuelle] write to me to show me the offers they have received, it’s incredible,” she adds.
According to her, some of these solicitations come from women who themselves promote their work on social networks, accessible to all.
“I see more and more women exposing themselves without necessarily putting prostitution ads, whether on TikTok, Instagram, or Snapchat, also noted criminologist Maria Mourani. Guys contact them and they make the transaction.
But all of this “promotion” and “commoditization” can be harmful, Ms. Sullivan laments.
“It’s more attractive during the Grand Prix, for some it’s worth it because the customers come from afar and are ready to pay dearly. But after the Grand Prix, it’s not as profitable. A girl who gets paid thousands of dollars to be a “sugar baby”, it’s very rare that it ends up in her pockets in the end. It is so illusory to sell that to young women,” she denounced.
Yesterday, the Minister responsible for the Metropolis and the Montreal region Chantal Rouleau was questioned about sexual exploitation on the sidelines of the Formula 1 weekend.
“We are not against the Grand Prix, far from it, it has a very significant impact on the metropolis. But the exploitation of young people must not be part of the deal. Adults who do this need to take responsibility, need to be aware of their actions,” she said.
– With Marc-André Gagnon
Reference-www.tvanouvelles.ca