This weekend, the Craven Country Thunder music festival will be used to spotlight an major social issue—human trafficking. For the first time, 500 posters from the Government of Saskatchewan’s human trafficking campaign will be featured at the event, raising awareness about trafficking and sexual exploitation among the festival’s thousands of attendees.
Launched in May, the campaign has already seen posters placed in high-traffic locations such as restaurants, gas stations, and libraries across the province. “With thousands of visitors and residents taking in the music of Craven Country Thunder this weekend, it is a crucial opportunity to increase awareness about human trafficking and interpersonal violence,” said Minister Responsible for the Status of Women Office Laura Ross. “We hope that the posters will resonate with people and assure them that there is help available, and we thank the Country Thunder organization for their partnership in highlighting this important issue.”
The initiative is part of the broader ‘Face the Issue’ social media campaign, which ran from April to June, targeting 18- to 24-year-olds with messages about the red flags of abusive relationships. This phase of the campaign achieved significant reach, with videos shown or played approximately 7.7 million times on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Spotify, reaching over 370,000 unique users. As a direct result, approximately 9,000 individuals visited the 211 interpersonal violence and abuse web portal to learn more about available programs and services.
Justice Minister and Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre emphasized the importance of these efforts: “The more we can do to increase awareness about what abuse and exploitation look like and the resources available to address them, the better prepared we will all be, as a province, to take a stand against this serious issue.”
For those seeking support or information about human trafficking and sexual exploitation, a complete directory of resources can be found at sk.211.ca/abuse. Additional details about the ‘Face the Issue’ campaign are available on Saskatchewan.ca.
