About human trafficking
What is human trafficking?
The essential component of human trafficking is exploitation, rather than transportation.
Human trafficking involves a process, method and goal. According to the United Nations, human trafficking occurs when one of the activities in each of the following columns is met:
Canada is signatory to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, also known as the Palermo Protocol. In the Palermo Protocol, the following definitions are provided:
‘Trafficking in persons’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.’
Facts on human trafficking
- The most common form of human trafficking (79%) is sexual exploitation.
- 80% of all trafficking victims are women and half of all cases are children.
- In 30% of the countries which provided information on the gender of traffickers, women make up the largest proportion of traffickers. In some parts of the world, women trafficking women is the norm. (UNODC Report)
- The second most common form of human trafficking is forced labour (18%), although this may be a misrepresentation because forced labour is less frequently detected and reported than trafficking for sexual exploitation. (UNODC Report)
- Worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children. However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region of South East Asia, children are the majority. (UNODC Report)
- Although trafficking seems to imply people moving across continents, most exploitation takes place close to home. Data show intra-regional and domestic trafficking are the major forms of trafficking in persons. (UNODC Report)
- The current scale of human trafficking outweighs the smuggling and spreading of drugs. This report sadly gives human cargo status as the most trafficked commodity in Europe- more than illegal drugs or arms. (European Commission)
- Human trafficking has an annual global market worth $42.5 billion. (Council of Europe)
- About 27 million worldwide, are being held against their will. (United Nations)
- The principal methods traffickers use to control victims include: taking away victims’ travel and identity documents; repeatedly telling victims local police or immigration authorities will arrest, brutalize, or even kill them if they are found; sexual abuse; physical violence; threats of physical violence or death; isolation; and debt bondage. In cases with groups of victims, traffickers used other victims as enforcers to intimidate and control the victims. (The National Institute of Justice)
Domestic vs. International Trafficking
Domestic trafficking involves the exploitation of residents of the country. In Canada, it is disproportionally Aboriginal youth and women who fall victim to human trafficking. Often, traffickers move victims across and into major urban centres in order to evade law enforcement and prevent victims from forming friendships or retaining family connections.
International trafficking involves the crossing of borders, where victims are brought into or sent from Canada from other countries to be exploited. Canadian women may end up in Las Vegas; much of the recruiting is done on social networking sites, with hundreds of Albertans caught up in this web each year.
How does human trafficking occur?
Traffickers may prey on vulnerable individuals and may use any combination of tactics to recruit a person, including deceit, coercion, control and abuse.
- Recruitment
- Transportation and potentially the illegal entry of the trafficked person;
- The exploitation and profiting phase
Implications
The human dimension – human trafficking is a profound human rights abuse. Trafficking affects the mental and physical health of individuals and communities.
The economic dimension – developed countries will continue to be affected by human trafficking as long as economic and social inequalities exist between them and developing countries, and within the developed countries themselves.
The security dimension – growing links to organized crime has increased the risks, challenges and costs for those aiming to combat trafficking. In addition, proceeds from human trafficking may be used to fund other criminal activities, such as drug trafficking.
Human Trafficking in Canada
Canada is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour (US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report, 2009) Canada prohibits all forms of human trafficking through Section 279.01-279.04 of the Criminal Code. Transnational human trafficking is specifically prohibited by Section 118 of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a $1 million fine. For more information on Canada’s varied responses to human trafficking, please visit:
The BC Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons
http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/octip/
RCMP National Coordination Centre on Human Trafficking
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/imm-passp/htncc-cnctp-eng.htm
Interdepartmental Working Group on Human Trafficking
http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fs-sv/tp/p4.html#one
Citizenship, Multiculturalism and Immigration Canada
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/inFORMation/applications/trp.asp
Human Trafficking in Alberta
“It is very disturbing to realize slavery is still alive and well today. We need to do what we can to reduce it and hopefully eliminate it” – The Honourable Minister Fred Lindsay, Solicitor General and Public Safety. Human Trafficking Awareness Workshop March 25, 2009, Edmonton.
In 2006, Canada strengthened victim protection by providing foreign trafficking victims with Temporary Residency Permit and immediate access to health benefits and services. The Province of Alberta now extends Income Support Benefits to trafficked persons with a Temporary Resident’s Permit. It is the first jurisdiction in Canada to provide this support.
According to the 2008 Provincial Report on Organized Crime from the Criminal Intelligence Service, in Alberta, human trafficking appears to manifest itself in two distinct scenarios. The first of these is the trafficking of foreign individuals into Alberta by criminal networks. Recent investigations have revealed that women and young girls from several Asian countries have been brought to Canada under the guise of visitor or work visas. Once these women arrive in Canada, they are circulated to urban centres within the country and forced to work in the sex trade to pay off the ‘fees’ they owe their traffickers for arranging their travel. Victims of this form of human trafficking can be found within bawdy houses and illegitimate massage parlours throughout the province.
The second form of human trafficking that has been reported in Alberta is the recruitment and movement of Canadian born women by organized crime groups. Young women are recruited unwittingly into the sex trade and then appear to be circulated throughout major centres within Canada and the United States. The movement of these women is believed to be orchestrated and controlled by multiple criminal networks operating in Alberta. Information indicates that the organized crime groups may cooperate with each other on occasion and are possibly associated to a larger organized crime networks which stretch across Canada.
Human trafficking for labour also exists, although it is largely underreported. Nationally, there has not been a case of human trafficking for labour exploitation successfully prosecuted. For an example of human trafficking for labour, please see a description of Ontario’s “Elmvale 11” http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/488074.
Alberta Victim Services
Victim Service Units (VSUs) promote and advocate the rights and entitlements of victims of crime and trauma through information, referral, support, assistance, community liaison, and education. They may be affiliated or housed with local police or RCMP detachments, or may operate within nonprofit agencies. Often they are comprised of a group of dedicated community volunteers known as Victim Advocates who work to support victims of crime or tragedy.
Advocates and coordinators receive training through the Ministry of the Solicitor General and Public Security. A module on human trafficking has been developed and will be incorporated into training in 2009. ACT Alberta has also given presentations and workshops to VSU training sessions across the province.
Victim Advocates are highly trained to effectively provide support, information and referral services to help victims and their families cope with the impact of the crime or tragedy. They are available through the RCMP 24 hrs a day for crisis response.
It is up to the attending officer at any investigation to decide whether to contact the local VSU. VSUs may be the first point of contact for victims of human trafficking, particularly if they are identified by police.
Victim Service Units also have access to CanTalk, which is a language service company that provides interpretation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in any language.
