The horrors of human trafficking have been chronicled in a new documentary, thanks to a grant awarded to a Windsor-Essex agency.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation has provided a $85,400 grant to a local filmmaker for a documentary created in partnership with the Sexual Assault Crisis Centre (SACC).
Film producer and director Amanda Gellman said the documentary includes testimonials from human trafficking victims.
"A priority for our documentary film is education, and educators and organizations that serve persons involved in human trafficking will have free access to the resources developed," said Gellman. "This film will be a supportive, educational tool that will be given to survivors, families, and professionals alike to help others, including parents, teens and young adults, teachers, social workers, police, and volunteers working on the front line."
The two MPPs representing the City of Windsor learned more about the project on Wednesday.
"The hard work of the SACC on the ground is bringing invaluable awareness to our community, and this investment from our government through the Ontario Trillium Foundation will keep our community's safety at the forefront," said Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie.
Windsor West's Lisa Gretzky added that these projects are instrumental in raising awareness.
"May is Sexual Assault Prevention Month in Ontario, and this year, the SACC is marking the occasion by launching their Human Trafficking Prevention project," said Gretzky. "This project provides valuable publicly accessible educational resources, including a documentary film. The importance of the work SSAC does every day with survivors of sexual victimization is impossible to overstate, and I am heartened to see OTF has awarded a Resilient Communities Fund grant in support of the project."
In conjunction with the film, the project also includes educational resources to help reduce the risk of human trafficking and identify the warning signs.
