humantraffickingexsists-blog

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A human trafficking case is always a tough case to unravel. Individuals who are being trafficked need to know it is important to report in order to prevent this kind of crime, for other people who may fall vulnerable and become involved in the cycle.

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Why are human trafficking cases hard to identify and prosecute?

-Lack of awareness of human trafficking in our society

-Lack of individuals, especially victims reports

-Lack of training and knowledge about human trafficking

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Happening in our own backyard.

Please be vigilant, safe, and trust your instincts.

I usually walk to the gym, it’s about a mile and a half down on the same road my apartment complex is on. It’s a busy Main Street. Today about a half mile from my apartment on my walk back a black car pulled into the rite aid parking lot I happened to be walking through on my way home. I could only see the girl in the passenger seat because that’s the side I was facing. She looked frazzled and her hair was all messy, she had to be around my age (maybe younger?) She said she just moved to the area and was looking to make friends, and said she was a dancer and asked if I smoke and drink. She asked me my age and was really pushy about exchanging numbers. I took hers but gave her my boyfriend’s. But she had to reach for the phone so it seemed it was the male driver’s not hers. Also, she had to correct herself because she originally gave me the “wrong area code” which is weird cause I’m sure most people know their cell numbers pretty well. I just wanted to book it out of there right away so after that I just made an excuse and crossed the street and went inside a gas station quick shop and called my roommate to come get me (I didn’t want to walk and lead them to our apartment)

There were 3 things in particular that set my internal alarms : 1. The driver never said a word, never looked at me. Kept out of my view. 2. She told me she’d “seen me before walking up and down the road so she knew I probably lived nearby” 3. My gym is in the plaza of an outdoor mini mall and as I was leaving I remember I turned around cause I heard a really loud laugh and it was the same girl! So they had to have followed me out and down the road?

I got spooked and called the National Sex Trafficking hotline and the lady took down all the information and agreed that the situation definitely seemed like something related to sex work or sex trafficking and that it was the best move to call it in.

It was really unsettling and all this was in broad daylight on a busy road so always remember to always err on the side of caution and stay safe!

Note: This happened in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

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Jessie Foster was born on the 27th of May, 1984, in Calgary, Alberta. She grew up in the city of Kamloops, British Columbia. When she was 16-years-old, she moved to Calgary to live with her father who had divorced her mother when she was just a baby. In 2005, Jessie travelled to the United States with a friend before they settled down in Las Vegas.

Jessie told her parents she had met a man called Peter Todd and they had become engaged and were living in a million-dollar home. When her mother, Glendene Grant, hadn’t heard from Jessie in a while, she became concerned and contacted Todd. He told Glendene that Jessie had left him in April of 2006 and claimed he had no idea where she was. Glendene subsequently hired a private investigator to help find her daughter. This private investigator discovered that Jessie had been in hospital after having her jaw broken and had been forced to work as an escort.

Since her disappearance, Jessie’s mobile phone hasn’t been used and there has been no activity on her credit card. The private investigator told Jessie’s parents that he believed she was most likely dead but said there is little evidence to go on; it appeared as though Jessie vanished into thin air. Presumably his theory comes from the fact that between 2003 and 2006, four sex workers from Las Vegas vanished. The bodies of the other three have since been discovered but Jessie still remains missing.

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Saw this on insta and thought it should be shared. REPOST TO SAVE A LIFE!!!

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I wish we all could unite to achieve justice for Cyntoia Brown. She’s just a kid! No one deserve such a life. NO ONE!

#FreeCyntoiaBrown

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If we’re going to gurgle over celebrities, how about giving more attention to people like Ashton Kutcher who started a foundation to fight child pornography and sex trafficking?

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It’s not a choice- 360 Kids

In 2014, 360°kids launched a new initiative called the HOPE program as a direct result of an emerging community need.  The York Regional Police Guns and Gangs unit reached out to us for help to provide housing options and wraparound supports for female victims of human trafficking in York Region. 

In York Region the issue of human trafficking is becoming more prevalent. Human trafficking is a problem that is present in many remote areas of the world and unfortunately now in our own backyard. Over the last few years there has been a heightened awareness of the issues around human trafficking and sexual exploitation in our community. In February 2014, 10 arrests and more than 95 charges were laid after a series of investigations led York Regional Police to over 30 young girls who were forced to work as prostitutes.

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Palermo Protocol-committing preventing, protecting, and prosecuting violators

What is the Palermo Protocol?

The Palermo Protocol is the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. 150 countries have signed onto this protocol against Human Trafficking.

140 countries have made Human Trafficking a criminal offence, including Canada

Countries that have signed on to the Palermo Protocol agree that human trafficking is a serious crime and violation of human rights. The Protocol provides an internationally accepted definition of “trafficking in persons”, containing three-parts6:

Action: “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons”

Means: by any 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

Purpose: 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.”

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Myth or Fact? Human Trafficking -Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services

Listed below are some myths vs facts about the Human Trafficking world provided by The Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services

Myth: Human trafficking happens in developing countries, not in places like Ontario. Fact: Human trafficking occurs throughout the world, including here. According to the RCMP, there have been 269 cases in Ontario since 2005 where human trafficking specific charges were laid.  Since human trafficking is an underreported crime, the actual number of cases is likely much larger.

Myth: Human trafficking is an international crime that involves sneaking someone across a border. Fact: Human trafficking is sometimes confused with human smuggling, but in reality it may or may not involve moving someone across a border. In most reported cases of human trafficking in Ontario, the person trafficked is from Canada and is recruited within Canada.

Myth: All sex workers are victims of human trafficking. Fact: If an adult chooses to engage in consensual, paid sex work on their own terms and is not controlled and exploited by another person, it is not considered human trafficking.

Myth: Sex trafficking can only happen to people who use drugs or have other serious risk factors. Fact: While some groups have been identified as at-risk, there are also cases in which no known risk factors are present. In those cases, traffickers often target very young people and may build trust during a "grooming" period before exploitation begins.

Myth: If a person isn’t kept locked up or in chains they can always just leave. Fact: Some people who are trafficked are controlled and monitored constantly and don’t have the opportunity to ask for help. Others may not realize or acknowledge what is happening to them or that it is a crime. In some cases, they may fear their trafficker or law enforcement too much to risk seeking help. They may also be manipulated to believe that the trafficker is the only person who cares about them and that they are best off staying with their trafficker.

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Local Support For GTA:

What Local Supports are there for victims or Human Trafficking?

CANADA WIDE: Kids Help Phone- 1-800-668-6868 or visit https://kidshelpphone.ca/

York Regional Police-1-866-876-542 or email  humantraffickingteam@yrp.ca

Covenant House Toronto- Human Trafficking Advocate (416) 204-7036 

East Metro Youth Services- (416) 438-3697 or visit www.emys.on.ca

Hospital for Sick Children (under 18) SCAN or The Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Program (416) 813-4955

Project P.E.A.C.E- (416) 597-8297 

Toronto Police Services Human Trafficking Enforcement Team -(416) 808-7400

Women’s College Hospital Sexual Assault Care Centre 24/7 -(416) 323-6400 

London Anti-Human Trafficking Committee- (519) 438-2272 or visit 

Looking for more resources? 

Visit: http://victimjusticenetwork.ca/files/resources/Human_Trafficking-Covenant_House_List_of_Resources_2016.pdf

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