Human trafficking is the number one growing crime on the planet, with 93 per cent of human trafficking victims in Canada being born here. Ontario sees 70 per cent of all human trafficking in Canada—that's why a human trafficking awareness training event is coming up tomorrow.
Deborah Logue, executive director with Victim Services Perth-Huron, says this will be an introduction to the issue in the region.
“The event will be an introduction to what human trafficking looks like in our region,” Logue said. “We will discuss warning signs to watch out for, how to support someone that may be being trafficked or has in the past, highlights of the community supports we have in the area and how to contact them.”
The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking defines human trafficking as recruiting, moving, or holding victims to exploit them for profit, usually for sexual reasons or forced labour. The trafficker keeps the victims in check by control and pressure including threats of violence, actual violence, emotional abuse, and manipulation.
Stratford and Perth County is close to London, and it’s proximity to the 401 corridor — a known hot spot for sex traffickers. There are source locations where traffickers recruit victims, destination locations where victims are brought to work, and transit routes where victims are used to be transported. according to Ashley Horton a detective sergeant with the Ontario Provincial Police, Horton is also the West Region team lead for the Provincial Human Trafficking Intelligence-led Joint Forces Strategy and during a human trafficking event in Mitchell, she told the crowd that Perth County is primarily a source or transit location, although large towns with hotels can also become destination locations.
“Many cases go unreported, so it is difficult to confirm a number,” Logue said. “We can share that Victim Services Huron Perth, on average, supports 20-30 individuals and family members impacted by trafficking annually.”
Logue adds that social media is a common ground for traffickers to recruit victims—with 12-14 being the prime age of recruitment.
“A false relationship can be developed through social media in which vulnerabilities are shared, and traffickers will use those to their advantage,” said Logue. In fact, 72 per cent of human trafficking victims are under 25 years of age.”
Logue adds that any vulnerability can be used to manipulate a victim. People who identify as at-risk or vulnerable for different reasons can be targets of traffickers. Women and girls make up the majority of cases, but men are also victims.
“Other vulnerable groups include: youth who struggle with low self-esteem, bullying, discrimination, poverty, abuse, isolation and other social or family issues,” Logue said. “Individuals who are part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community or identify outside of the gender binary, people who may not have a home or experience violence in the home, and those battling with addiction, mental health issues and developmental disabilities, are also included in the vulnerable groups that traffickers seek out.”
A tip from experts around social media is to be aware that these sites are all used as predatory grounds.
- Understand what websites you are using (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat)
- Take the time to know how apps function (Tiktok – data mining, Snapchat - snapmaps)
- Set strong privacy settings on all platforms
- Only add people you know (not friends of friends)
- Be conscious of what you are posting on any social media, especially location.
Tomorrow's event is free to attend virtually with registration prior to the start time being appreciated.