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Pickton Trial

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Trisha Baptie: The Long And Winding Road To Courage

By Citizen Correspondent Trisha Baptie

Date Posted: 04/18/08

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My name is Trisha Baptie. I overcame the cycle of drug addiction and abuse that led me to the streets where I sold my body. Along the way I lost some friends, some to a serial killer in my town who thought no one would notice the disappearance of hookers from the impoverished Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Canada. He was wrong, and last year I was chosen by the online citizen journalism magazine Orato.com to cover the serial killer trial of Robert "Willie" Pickton, who was charged with murdering 26 of Vancouver's 60+ missing women. So far, Pickton has been convicted in the deaths of six of the women I shared the streets with.

Now it's announced and official: I am the winner of this year's Courage To Come Back Award in the category of Social Adversity. Each year in British Columbia, Canada six people are honored for their courage to overcome and recover from illness, injury or adversity. It feels kind of surreal to be honored among these courageous people…and gave me a really great excuse to shop for a kick butt outfit!

Editor's Note: Click here to listen to Trisha's Courage To Come Back acceptance speech and view video of the award ceremony. Click here to view a slideshow of The Courage To Come Back Awards Dessert Reception.

I will stand on a stage and give a speech on May 8, 2008, but I will not be alone. In spirit standing with me will be a myriad of women - my friends who perished at Pickton's farm and those still trapped in prostitution whose freedom I fight for.

Also on stage will be the amazing women who have been fighting the abolitionist fight long before I came on the scene and who have given me the analysis to explain what I have long felt in my heart. Beside me will be the proud and mighty aboriginal women who are loudly demanding the end to the exploitation that happens so prevalently in their communities.

There are many I want to express my deep gratitude towards, for their amazing acts of selflessness and sacrifice are what got me here. I will not thank them one by one, but I will discuss a common faith amongst them that is the driving force behind why they did what they did, which was to love me unconditionally and constantly sacrifice in their own lives to help me repair my own.

My posse, which assisted me in reclaiming my life and changing the destiny of my children, and I believe that life is about purpose. We believe it's through fulfilling our purpose that we can find happiness. Now, I am not aiming to answer the question of life here; I am only explaining how I was able to reclaim my life.

The most important thing that group of people gave me was time. It takes a lot of time and patience to see life through someone else's eyes…to walk her through every step it takes for her to come to a new paradigm.