As Lauren Chopek painfully details her story, she does so with the reticence of a survivor, as if somehow remaining silent would have been better.
"I used to blame myself for everything. But, like I, I would say I let them do that to me. I am dirty. It's my fault," says Chopek through tears.
But Chopek is finally speaking out, determined to shake the guilt and shame that she knows should stalk her perpetrators instead of her.
"Now I see that I was just a child," says Chopek, now sitting serenely in a safe house, a healing lodge in rural Manitoba that cradled her in the love and protection she so needed when she escaped her life on the streets.
Now 19, Lauren was just 14 when she was sexually exploited and trafficked for sex in her hometown of Winnipeg. But as an indigenous girl in Canada, her story is hardly rare.
Canada's indigenous population is very small -- just 4% of the population -- yet more than 50% of all sex trafficking victims in Canada are indigenous. The reasons are complicated and varied but are ultimately rooted in a legacy of poverty, racism and abuse.
"I was actually making these bad choices for a reason," explains Chopek. "You know when you experience sexual abuse it's really confusing. You never know if it's your fault or is it theirs?
Outreach on neighborhood streets is one strategy that is executed with the help of law enforcement officers. Almost daily, Winnipeg Police dispatch an elite unit on the streets to try and counter sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
The approach is a departure for Winnipeg Police, who now say their efforts are firmly focused on helping victims. Outreach is conducted in a way to help victims and then bring their perpetrators to justice.
Law enforcement officials acknowledge a history of bias and racism that in the past prevented police from truly understanding how and why indigenous girls are vulnerable and at risk.
"There is bias in the police service. We recognize it, that there's implicit bias. We certainly have taken steps to try to address that in a myriad of ways," says Danny Smyth, Winnipeg's deputy police chief.
"We have a team that's dedicated just to outreach. Just to being out there and trying to get to know who's out on the street, and trying to establish a relationship with them," adds Smyth.
The legacy of years of abuse and racism though are making it difficult for Canada's indigenous community to heal and move on. Canada will soon launch an inquiry that will focus on why hundreds of indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been murdered over the years.
Canadian and independent studies have revealed that indigenous women and girls are five times more likely to die in violent circumstances than non-indigenous women and girls.
"We're still in a society that targets indigenous women and girls. In fact the national task force concluded that there's a market for indigenous girls," says Redsky, adding, "what that leads to is a society who views indigenous women as less than, and in fact of no human value."
