Education and Awareness of Human Trafficking

Edition: 2024

Introduction

Public Safety Canada hosts an annual webinar series as part of the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking.

The 2024 series was held from January 2024 to March 2024. A total of 433 participants from different sectors and levels of government across Canada attended. The webinars had two main goals:

• To improve awareness of emerging trends, current issues and best practices in the fight against human trafficking.
• To improve networks and relationships with other stakeholders working to advance efforts in addressing human trafficking.

Disclaimer

Please note that the information and views contained within this document are not necessarily representative of the Government of Canada's position on human trafficking or any related issues.

This report discusses, in depth, the topic of human trafficking, which some readers may find distressing and difficult to process.

If needed, please consult the Government of Canada's mental health supports or the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-900-1010.

Key themes from the webinar series

This year, Public Safety Canada convened key stakeholders to explore available training tools concerning human trafficking through two webinars:

• Webinar 1: Training Against Human Trafficking: Building Effective Training Tools Across Sectors (Part 1) on February 13, 2024
• Webinar 2: Training Against Human Trafficking: Building Effective Training Tools Across Sectors (Part 2) on March 5, 2024

While each webinar focused on a different topic related to training tools, several key themes emerged across the series:

1. Many industries intersect with the issue of human trafficking.
   • Industries that intersect with human trafficking can include transportation and hospitality, where individuals working on the front lines can bear witness or unknowingly facilitate instances of trafficking.
   • Individuals working in these industries should be provided with the tools to prevent, recognize and address human trafficking.
2. Human trafficking is a complex crime rooted in relationships of power.
   • Human trafficking occurs when perpetrators with more power exploit victims and survivors with less power.
   • Parallels can be drawn between the phases of human trafficking and the settler colonial history of Canada, where different forms of violence are enacted on victims and survivors to lure, groom, coerce and eventually exploit them.
   • Victims and survivors are often part of the most marginalized communities, including racialized girls and women, where perpetrators can leverage and exploit their unfulfilled needs.
   • Preventing human trafficking requires addressing the root causes of oppression, such as racism, poverty, gender inequality, homophobia and transphobia.
3. Developing tools and training to address human trafficking must be both survivor-informed and survivor-led.
   • Individuals who work with survivors must create non-judgmental spaces for survivors to identify and express their needs and potential solutions.
   • Peer support plays an instrumental role in survivor recovery. Peer support training is essential to ensure both the peer and the supporter remain safe.

Webinar 1: Training Against Human Trafficking: Building Effective Training Tools Across Sectors (Part 1) – February 13, 2024

Discussion highlights

• Multiple industries intersect with human trafficking and have, knowingly or unknowingly, witnessed its operation and impacts. These industries need to be equipped with the knowledge and tools to prevent, recognize and address it.
• Hospitality, health and transportation are three industries that intersect with human trafficking. Protect All Children from Trafficking, the Fraser Health Authority and Truckers Against Trafficking have developed education and training materials for people working on the front lines that take various forms, including online videos, multilingual courses and community resources.
• These education and training efforts have proven effective in raising awareness, building knowledge and inspiring safe action from people working on the front lines. In some cases, they have seen millions of people trained and trafficking cases identified in real time.
• Another part of their success is attributed to the efforts being undertaken in a survivor-informed and survivor-led way with, in some instances, the direct involvement of survivors. These practices ensure that survivors are at the center of designing or executing education and training on human trafficking.

Presentation 1: Education and Awareness Building within the Hospitality and Tourism Industry - Yvonne Chen, Director of Private Sector Engagement, Protect All Children from Trafficking (PACT)

• Protect All Children from Trafficking (PACT) is a member of ECPAT International, which is a network of diverse organizations in nearly one hundred countries working toward the elimination of the sexual exploitation of children. PACT's vision, similar to ECPAT's, is to build a world where no children are bought, sold or used for sex.
• PACT delivers this vision through three workstreams:
  • Legislative advocacy: PACT convenes survivors and their supporters to advocate for anti-trafficking legislation at the national level.
  • Youth and community education: PACT offers virtual and in-person programming to community members to learn about healthy relationships, warning signs for online violence and tools for having tough conversations on online safety.
  • Partnerships and training for professionals: PACT collaborates with businesses to develop tailored programs for different sectors that intersect with trafficking, including tourism and hospitality.
    • Hotel E-Learning, developed in partnership with the Marriott and the American Hotel and Lodging Association Foundation, is an example of a program that defines trafficking, discusses how to identify it and provides guidance on steps to take once it is identified.
    • Other programs available include Travel Training for Managers and Professionals, Social Identity Quest and Online Safety Guides.
    • These programs offer online study in multiple languages and, taken together, have seen over one million instances trained.
• PACT's workstreams in advocacy, education and partnerships is grounded in survivor-informed and survivor-led practice. PACT's Survivors' Council is an example of a survivor-led initiative, where survivors from diverse backgrounds can come together and use their expertise and perspectives to inform the resources developed for the various programs.
• More information about PACT can be found on PACT's website or by contacting Yvonne Chen at ychen@wearepact.org.

Presentation 2: Building Awareness & Knowledge to Address Human Trafficking Within the Healthcare Setting - Tara Wilkie, RN, BScN SANE-A, Co-Coordinator Surrey Memorial Hospital, Forensic Nursing Service - Fraser Health Authority

• Forensic nurse examiners are registered nurses with training on violence-related injury, detailed examination and forensic photography. Patients that see these nurses typically have experienced sexual or relational violence such as elder abuse or domestic violence.
• Healthcare providers like forensic nurses are on the front lines of human trafficking and are often the only person someone trafficked may interact with who could support them. These providers have a role to play in learning the warning signs associated with human trafficking.
• In response, the Fraser Health Authority developed Human Trafficking: Help Don't Hinder, the first training of its kind in Canada. The course is offered for free and is only one hour long. It dispels myths about human trafficking and includes interactive case studies so that healthcare providers know when and how to respond.
• Since the launch of the course in 2014, approximately 4,000 people in the region have taken Human Trafficking: Help Don't Hinder. The course has led to an increase in awareness of human trafficking and an increase in referrals to forensic nursing services.
• Building further awareness of human trafficking requires a collaborative approach. The Human Trafficking Health Alliance of Canada has created curriculum for post-secondary institutions and offers consultations with allied professionals. Recently, they have created an evaluation tool for existing human trafficking training tools with HEAL Trafficking. For more information about these training opportunities, please contact Tara Wilkie at tara.wilkie@fraserhealth.ca.

Presentation 3: Prevention and Intervention: Combating Human Trafficking through the Trucking, Bus and Energy Industries - Dylan Wecht, Public Sector Engagement Specialist, Truckers Against Trafficking

• Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) is an organization whose mission is to educate, equip, empower and mobilize members of the trucking, bus and energy industries to combat human trafficking as part of their jobs.
• One of TAT's goals is to saturate industries with free materials and resources that are survivor- and trauma-informed. TAT has created a wide variety of materials and resources, including documentary-style training videos such as “Bussing on the Lookout,” “Local Drivers” and “Movers & In-Home Delivery” and informative posters, brochures and wallet cards. TAT also has an app with key information such as red flags for identifying human trafficking. All resources and materials are available in English, French and Spanish.
• TAT's second goal is to partner with law enforcement and government agencies to facilitate the investigation of human trafficking cases. TAT does this work through sharing case studies and creating networking opportunities for law enforcement and government to build relationships, capacities and knowledge about human trafficking.
• As part of their approach, TAT uses the Canadian Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (CVE) model, which consists of modules with videos, interactive components and other materials. For some people, the CVE course is their first time learning about human trafficking and how they can play a role in supporting victims. A similar course has been deployed in the United States, and between both countries, 1.7 million industry professionals have undergone the training.
• For more information or working with TAT contact Dylan Wecht at dwecht@truckersagainsttrafficking.org

Webinar 2: Training Against Human Trafficking: Building Effective Training Tools Across Sectors (Part 2) – March 5, 2024

Discussion highlights

• Marginalized people are more likely to be victimized by human trafficking, as traffickers seek to identify and exploit their needs.
• Anyone working with survivors should not assume to fully understand their experiences or the decisions they made during a survival context, including engaging in peer recruitment. Instead, they should create a non-judgmental space and listen to survivors' needs.
• Peer support plays an important role in recovery after someone has experienced human trafficking. Providing peer supporters with adequate training and tools is essential to ensuring the safety and wellness of the peer and their supporter.
• The colonial history of Canada mirrors the phases of human trafficking. Early relationships between settler and Indigenous communities were friendly. A similar dynamic is at play with human trafficking, where traffickers approach people with promises of friendship or a romantic relationship. These promises can be deceptive and have been broken, causing survivors of exploitation to experience harm.

Presentation 1: Working Upstream: Preventing Human Trafficking by Addressing Root Causes - Marissa Kokkoros, Founder and Executive Director, Aura Freedom International

• Aura Freedom is a grassroots intersectional feminist organization that is working toward the eradication of all forms of violence against women and girls. Their work focuses on prevention as an upstream approach and supporting survivors as a downstream approach. Both upstream and downstream approaches must be survivor-led. Aura Freedom also provides frontline training for organizations that support survivors of sex trafficking.
• The root causes of human trafficking are the same root causes of oppression around the world. While anyone can be trafficked, survivors tend to be a part of marginalized communities whose needs have not been fulfilled in an oppressive society: girls and women, Indigenous girls and youth, Black girls and youth, youth in foster care and 2SLGBTQ+ youth. Traffickers are able to take advantage of their unfulfilled needs by leveraging them to lure and exploit women and girls.
• Coercive control is a cornerstone of human trafficking. It consists of a longer pattern of abuse that can include the threat of physical violence, control of all aspects of a person's life, and the withholding of basic needs. These actions in isolation may look like a bad relationship, which is why it is essential to look at the actions as a whole.
• The non-punishment principle is necessary to support survivors of human trafficking. It puts the actions that a survivor may take, such as peer-to-peer recruitment, in context. It consists of the understanding that, although human trafficking is a crime, it is a human rights abuse first.
• Being able to build trust with survivors is critical to supporting them. For example, providing grocery cards and paying for transportation to and from counselling services are needed steps. The fees for these types of supports should be built into grants and funding opportunities.
• For information, please contact Aura Freedom at info@aurafreedom.org.

Presentation 2: Introduction to Voice Found and Ethical Peer Support - Cynthia Bland, Founder and CEO, Voice Found

• Peer support plays an important role in recovery after someone has experienced human trafficking. However, an inexperienced supporter may cause more harm to themselves and to their peer. Peer supporters may be unable to set boundaries and feel responsible for solving complex problems.
• To address these challenges, Ethical Peer Support Training Program created by Voice Found was developed with survivors at every step and was built on research and evidence that prepares a survivor who wants to be a peer supporter. The program was made for organizations who want to provide peer support as part of their service delivery, ensuring the well-being of both the peer and the supporter.
• The program delivery consists, first, of an application and interview process that will determine the readiness of a potential peer supporter. During the training period itself, future peer supporters are led through a ten-week lesson plan with self-paced learning modules that include quizzes and case studies and a weekly virtual classroom where they discuss learnings in a cohort. At the end of the training, future peer supporters have to complete a practicum that meets their individual needs. All peer supporters are then added to a community practice, where they can discuss their work.
• The program includes a guidebook for organizations that helps them to manage peer support delivery and ensure the ongoing support of peer supporters.
• Information about the program can be found on the Voice Found website.

Presentation 3: Understanding Human Trafficking through an Indigenous Lens - Amy Vanderzyde, Mental Health and Addiction Indigenous Anti-Human Trafficking Liaison, Ontario Native Women's Association

• The colonial history of Canada mirrors the phases of human trafficking in the following ways:
  • Casing: In most human trafficking cases, traffickers will assess their target before formally meeting with them. Similarly, at the start of the settler colonial process, settlers observed and assessed Indigenous peoples.
  • Luring: Traffickers begin building a positive relationship with survivors. Traffickers learn about the vulnerabilities of their targets so that they can fill those needs. Similarly, settlers made treaties with Indigenous peoples that were often void from the very beginning, as the treaties were made with men and ignored pre-existing matriarchal Indigenous traditions.
  • Grooming: Traffickers provide survivors with their needs, which can include introducing a high dependency on substances. In the early days of settler colonial Canada, the creation of trade relationships and the expansion of agriculture seemed to be positive.
  • Coercion: Coercion is when traffickers begin to manipulate survivors with mixed messaging and introduce power dynamics that disadvantage them. For example, survivors may be coerced to do things they may not want to do because traffickers paid for their rent. The introduction of the reserve system, dispossession, the elimination of food sovereignty and the threat of food source extinction mirror coercion in human trafficking.
  • Exploitation: The personal boundaries of survivors have been broken down, leading to codependent relationships with traffickers. It takes survivors an average of seven times to leave trafficking because they feel very connected to the structure traffickers have created. This exploitation can manifest in various forms, including, for example, organized or gang trafficking, where control is exerted by organized groups; familial-based trafficking, where family members recruit survivors, with recruiters sometimes being survivors themselves; and substance-driven trafficking, which often starts during the grooming phase, when traffickers introduce substances to create dependency. With settler colonialism, Indigenous resistance resulted in the introduction of the residential school system to eliminate the “Indian problem.” The creation of substance dependency with increased access to alcohol and eliminated access to culture and healing are additional examples of exploitation.
  • Exiting: It is difficult for survivors to exit due to the fear of violence and their internalization of self-blame. Currently, Indigenous peoples exist under settler colonial domination and have not been able to exit due to how deeply intertwined colonial systems operate. Indigenous peoples still struggle against financial abuse, intergenerational trauma, withheld treaty benefits and physical, emotional and spiritual abuse. For Indigenous survivors, exiting should include access to traditional medicine, general education, and awareness of human trafficking.

Date modified:

2024-08-15