Human Trafficking
Human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation, harbouring, and/or exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of a person in order to exploit that person, typically through sexual exploitation or forced labour.
Domestic trafficking
Domestic trafficking happens when someone is trafficked within the border of one country (e.g., from Ontario to Alberta)
International trafficking
International trafficking happens when someone is trafficked across country borders (e.g., from Canada to the U.S.A.)
Human trafficking is the world's fastest growing criminal enterprise. Drugs can only be sold once; a person can be sold over and over again.
Who is at risk of being trafficked?
Although everyone can be a victim of human trafficking, those at a higher risk include:
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Women and girls
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Indigenous people
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Unhoused individuals
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Victims of abuse
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2SLGBTQIA+ community
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Children in care
Know the Signs
A trafficking victim can be in the grooming or courting, luring, manipulation, or exploitation phase. They are most often lured into human trafficking through promises of a better life, money, or love. Victims and traffickers refer to human trafficking as 'the game'. Often, victims of human trafficking do not realize that what is happening to them is a crime, and do not recognize it as human trafficking.
A trafficker may use manipulation tactics including lies, threats, isolation, intimidation, violence, confiscating identification, creating addiction, and psychological abuse.
Someone might be a victim of human trafficking if they:
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are not allowed to speak for themselves and their activities are controlled by someone else
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are under 18 and involved in prostitution or sex work
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are unpaid or paid very little to work and seem to be treated poorly
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are repaying a debt through labour or sex
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seem fearful, anxious, depressed, submissive, tense, nervous or paranoid (they may avoid eye contact or seem fearful around police)
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show signs of abuse, such as bruising, cigarette burns or fractures
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have tattooing or branding symbols, particularly names
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don’t have their own belongings or money, and don’t control their own passport or other documents
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seem malnourished or lack medical care
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move frequently and may not know their surroundings well
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have been reported missing
Someone might be being groomed for sex trafficking if they:
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are withdrawing from family and friends
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are being secretive about their activities
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have a new boyfriend, girlfriend or friend who they won’t introduce to friends and family
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suddenly spend time with an older person or people
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begin staying out more often and later
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are absent from school or there is a decline in school performance
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begin wearing more sexualized clothing
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have new clothing and jewellery that they can’t afford to buy
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suddenly have a new or second cell phone with a secret number
Source: Ontario: Human Trafficking, 2020
The Stages of Trafficking
1
Luring
Sex traffickers approach potential victims in various ways, including pretending to be a potential partner or friend, posting newspaper or Internet ads for jobs and opportunities, or even threatening or kidnapping them. Often, false promises are made to the victims about money, new clothes, work or education opportunities, and financial aid for their families.
3
Coercion & Manipulation
The trafficker will use the information/material gathered to take advantage of the potential victim. The trafficker will also try to convince the victim that if they do what the trafficker wants, they will go back to the "good times", which essentially is the honeymoon phase; this is a lie and part of the manipulation aspect. They will use mind games to make the victim believe they did something wrong that ruined the love and affection and that the victim owes the trafficker to get it back. This way, the victim will do anything to get back to the love and warmth, eventually setting up the next step.
2
Grooming & Gaming
In the "honeymoon stage", or as most know it, the grooming and gaming stage, the trafficker will do anything to make the potential victim fall in love with them. Often, when an individual is emotionally attached to someone, they tend to care and do things for them that they wouldn't do for anyone else. The trafficker wants the potential victim to be emotionally attached to them to manipulate the victim.
3
4
Exploitation
In the exploitation stage, the trafficker has wholly broken down their victim's self-esteem. The trafficker will emotionally, psychologically, and physically manipulate and force the victim into sex work. Using the information gathered from the earlier stages, the trafficker will threaten to expose them to their friends or family if they leave. The trafficker, at this point, will convince the victim that they need to do sex work to support them financially, while isolating the victim from family and friends to ensure there is no one to help them.
5
Recruitment
At this point, the trafficker has fully manipulated the victim into working for them. They will use the victim to contact younger victims, sometimes even friends and family, and introduce them to the trafficker. This makes the initial victim feel indispensable to the trafficker and feel as though they are less of a worker and more of a girlfriend once again.
* Not all trafficking victims will make it to this stage *
Make the Call
If you don't want to or aren't ready to report to the police but you'd like to speak to someone about Human Trafficking, you can speak confidentially with Sudbury and Area Victim Services: 705-522-6790.
In an Emergency: call 911
Non-Emergent Reporting: Greater Sudbury Police 705-675-9171
Sudbury Crime Stoppers: 705-222-8477
Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-833-900-1010
The Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline offers a confidential, multilingual service, operating 24/7/365 to connect victims and survivors of forced prostitution and forced labour with social services and/or law enforcement in communities across Canada.
You can also submit tips, concerns or questions about human trafficking through www.canadianhumantraffickinghotline.ca
If you're a service provider or agency representative looking for more information or training, please contact us at 705-522-6970 or info@savs.ca
