Human Trafficking

Every year men, women and children are bought and sold. The International Labour Organization has estimated that the minimum number of persons in forced labour, including sexual exploitation, as a result of trafficking at any given time is 2.5 million (Department of Justice).

Human trafficking can happen domestically – within one country’s borders (for example: within Canada) – or internationally, across an international border (for example: people being moved from Asia to Canada). The movement or transportation of a person is not a necessary component of domestic human trafficking.

Human Trafficking involves three possible stages:

  • Recruitment: Traffickers approach potential victims in many ways, including pretending to be a potential boyfriend or girlfriend, posting newspaper or internet ads for jobs and opportunities, or even threatening or kidnapping them. Often, promises will be made to the victims such as money, work, education, financial aid for their family, or a better life or future.
  • Transportation/Isolation: Victims can be transported by plane, boat, train or any type of vehicle (often a combination of them) using genuine and/or fake documents that are usually taken from them upon arriving at their destination. This often isolates victims from people they know and familiar areas.
  • Exploitation: Is the key element of human trafficking offences under the Criminal Code. Exploitation occurs when someone causes another person to provide labour or services by behaving in a way that leads the person to reasonably fear for their safety or the safety of a person known to them, if he or she fails to obey. Traffickers often use violence, intimidation and deception to make victims do as they say (RCMP).

Human trafficking is often confused with human smuggling, which is the organized, illegal movement of persons across international borders with their consent, in exchange for a sum of money. Typically, the relationship between the smuggler and smuggled persons ends once the person arrives at his or her destination. However, in some cases, the person who has agreed to be smuggled becomes a victim of human trafficking at the hands of the smuggler (RCMP).

Facts

  • Human trafficking has been described as a modern-day form of slavery (Department of Justice).
  • In 2005, the Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre (HTNCC) was created within the RCMP to provide a central point for law enforcement in the efforts to combat and disrupt criminal organizations involved in Human Trafficking activities. It works with many other organizations to help protect victims of human trafficking, raise awareness, provide investigative tools and coordinate intelligence about human trafficking.

Laws

Any person(s) who exploits (as defined by section 279.04 of the Criminal Code) another person(s) for financial gain or other material benefit is a human trafficker (RCMP).

In 2002, Section 118 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act made trafficking in persons (any person who organizes the coming into Canada of one or more persons by means of abduction, fraud, deception or use of threat, force or coercion) an offence, with penalties as high as imprisonment for life. In 2005, the Criminal Code was reformed to include trafficking in persons. Section 279.01-04 of the Criminal Code defines exploitation, sets out the punishments and prohibits individuals from benefitting from human trafficking. It also outlaws withholding or destroying documents during the process of human trafficking (RCMP).

Need Help?

How you can recognize a victim of human trafficking.

Victims may:

  • Not self-identify as a victim of human trafficking because they feel they have a relationship with their trafficker;
  • Not appear to need social services because they have a place to live, food to eat, medical care and what they think is a paying job;
  • Be completely unaware of their rights, or may have been intentionally misinformed about their rights in our country;
  • Be taught to distrust and fear the government and law enforcement officers because they are afraid they will get arrested or deported (if from another country); and/or
  • Fear for their families or loved ones, as some traffickers will threaten to harm their family members if they report their situations to, or cooperate with law enforcement (RCMP).

Indicators that people may be victims of human trafficking include:

  • Being controlled by others and escorted everywhere or watched;
  • Inability to speak on one’s own behalf and may not be English/French speaking;
  • Not having passports or other forms of I.D;
  • Not being familiar with the neighbourhood they live/work in;
  • Being moved frequently by other people;
  • Having visible signs of bruises, beatings or torture, such as scars or cuts; and/or
  • Expressing fear and intimidation through facial expressions and/or body language (RCMP).

What YOU can do to help stop human trafficking

  • The public is the best tool for identifying victims of human trafficking – get to know your community and report any suspicious activity.
  • If you think someone you know is being exploited, contact your local police. If you wish to report a crime anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Links

RCMP – Immigration and Passport
Canada Border Services Agency
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
RCMP – Human Trafficking National Coordination Center (HTNCC)
UNODC – Global Report on Trafficking in Persons

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