AWARENESS
The Problem
Sexual exploitation is a growing problem in our country today, and can take on several different forms. Child sexual exploitation (“the act of using a minor child for profit, labor, sexual gratification, or some other personal or financial advantage”) in particular, is one of the most disturbing public safety issues facing our society today, and the large majority of these cases are never solved. Examples of this include child pornography, sextortion, survival sex, the live streaming of child sexual abuse, child sex tourism and child sex trafficking.
Trafficking of humans is considered one of the fastest growing criminal activities in the world today. Too often we have the mindset that this issue will only ever occur "somewhere else," and while it is a global issue, it is all too present here in our home country, Canada. Because much of these events go unreported, statistics are hard to collect. Some NGO's estimate that 10,000 Canadians are trafficked domestically each year (based on reported incidents).
Definitions
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The act of involving a child for economic or other reasons in criminal activities.
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An actual or attempted abuse of someone's position of vulnerability (such as a person depending on you for survival, food rations, school, books, transport or other services), differential power or trust, to obtain sexual favours, including but not only, by offering money or other social, economic or political advantages. It includes trafficking and prostitution.
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The act of using a minor child for profit, labor, sexual gratification, or some other personal or financial advantage. Examples include child pornography, child sex trafficking, sextortion, the live streaming of child sexual abuse, and child sex tourism.
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What separates trafficking from exploitation alone is that there is a third party (ex. the trafficker or pimp) that is benefiting (usually financially) from the exploitation. Sex trafficking is a form of sexual exploitation.
Sexual exploitation = victim and perpetrator.
Sex trafficking (a form of sexual exploitation) = trafficker/pimp and victim and perpetrator.
Human Trafficking Facts
Trafficking doesn’t always involve smuggling people across borders… it’s happening here in communities across Canada. Victims do not need to be moved from one location to another in order to be “trafficked.”
Traffickers are often people the girls know and trust, such as current or former romantic partners, family members, friends, co-workers etc. They prey on people who may be at odds or separated from their families, in need of work, desperate for money, or survivors of abuse.
While physical violence may be involved, more often than not traffickers take advantage of positions of vulnerability, use emotional abuse, manipulation and abuse of trust or power.
Human trafficking is often accompanied by major trauma, and the recovery can take a lifetime.
Based on available government data and resources, in Canada, this crime mostly affects:
Women and girls: 97% of police-reported incidents were women and girls
Youth and young adults: 28% were under the age of 18, 45% were ages 18-24
Indigenous People: “Testimony from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls highlights that human trafficking is strongly linked to higher rates of violence against Indigenous women and girls”
(Reference: Canada.ca)
Check out our Resource page to continue learning about sex trafficking in Canada.
Graphs via Canada’s National Strategy To Combat Human Trafficking 2019-2024
If you or someone you know is being trafficked, there is help. Please contact the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline (available 24/7 by phone or email). You can also submit an anonymous tip or report anything suspicious. All communication with the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline is strictly confidential.
Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline
Call: 1-833-900-1010
Email: hotline@ccteht.ca