Support for Trafficked Persons

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.

For more information on Victims Services, please see Help for Victims of Crime

Identifying and Working with Victims of Human Trafficking

If you would like individualized training on supporting trafficked persons in your organization, please contact ACT Alberta at info@actalberta.org.

The following are sample questions you can ask in screening an individual to determine if he/she is a potential victim of human trafficking. As with domestic violence victims, if you think a person is a victim of trafficking, you do not want to begin by asking directly if the person has been beaten or held against his/her will. Instead, you want to start at the edges of his/her experience.

If possible, you should enlist the help of another person who speaks the person’s language and understands the person’s culture, keeping in mind that any questioning should be done confidentially. You should screen interpreters to ensure they do not know the victim or the traffickers and do not otherwise have a conflict of interest.

If the person is a child, it is important to enlist the help of specialist skilled in interviewing child trafficking or abuse victims.

Before speaking with the trafficked person, isolate the individual from anyone accompanying her/him without raising suspicions - An individual accompanying the person may be the trafficker posing as spouse, other family member or employer - Explain that it is your policy to speak to person alone

Some considerations:

  • Does the person have difficulty communicating because of language or cultural barriers?
  • Does the person have any identification?
  • For victim’s safety, strict confidentiality is paramount – Talk to victims in a safe, confidential and trusting environment – Limit the number of staff members coming in contact with the trafficked person
  • It is important to indirectly and sensitively approach person – They may deny being trafficked , so it is best not to ask direct questions – The term “trafficked person” may have no meaning
  • Gaining trust is an important first step in providing assistance
  • Sample messages to convey: – We are here to help you. – Our first priority is your safety. – We can find you a safe place to stay. – We want to make sure what happened to you doesn’t happen to anyone else. – You are entitled to assistance. We can help you get help. – If you are a victim of trafficking, you can receive help to rebuild your life.

Trafficked persons:

  • May not refer to themselves as being “trafficked”
  • May not speak English or French and may be unfamiliar with Canadian culture
  • May be isolated and/or confined
  • May be watched, escorted or guarded
  • May fear or distrust health providers, government, police
  • May have a fear of being deported
  • May be unaware what is being done to them is a crime
  • May not consider themselves victims
  • May blame themselves for their situations
  • May develop loyalties, positive feelings toward trafficker as coping mechanism
  • May try to protect trafficker from authorities
  • Sometimes victims do not know where they are (traffickers frequently move victims to escape detection)
  • May fear for safety of family in home country
  • May be “coached” to answer questions with cover story about being a wife, student or tourist
  • May try to make themselves invisible
  • May not ask for help

Suggested Screening Questions:

  • Can you leave your job or situation if you want?
  • Has your identification or passport been taken from you?
  • Has anyone threatened your family?
  • Is anyone forcing you to do anything that you do not want to do?
  • Can you come and go as you please?
  • Have you been threatened if you try to leave?
  • Have you been physically harmed in any way?
  • What are your working or living conditions like?
  • Where do you sleep and eat?
  • Do you sleep in a bed, on a cot or on the floor?
  • Have you ever been deprived of food, water, sleep or medical care?
  • Do you have to ask permission to eat, sleep or go to the bathroom?
  • Are there locks on your doors and windows so you cannot get out?

Sample questions adapted from the US Rescue and Restore Campaign

If you think you have come in contact with a victim of human trafficking, call the local police, either 911 if it is an emergency or the local complaint line.

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