End modern day slavery

Press Conference (Toronto, Ontario) October 12, 2010 Prof. Benjamin Perrin, author of Invisible Chains: Canada’s Underground World of Human Trafficking www.endmoderndayslavery.ca National Public Awareness Campaign to End Modern-Day Slavery

Overview
What is Human Trafficking?
Key Findings
Foreign Sex Trafficking
Forced Labour Trafficking
Domestic Sex Trafficking
Technology of Trafficking
Demand

Overview
Evaluating Canada’s Response
Protecting Victims
Prosecuting Traffickers
Preventing Human Trafficking
Situation in Ontario
Traffickers Have a Plan, But Canada Doesn’t
Recommendations
Questions?

What is Human Trafficking?
The UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (2000) states that human trafficking occurs when:
1) an individual recruits, transports, transfers, harbours or receives people
2) by means of deception, fraud, coercion, abuse of power, payment to others in control of the victim, threats of force, use of force or abduction
3) for the purpose of sexual exploitation, forced labour/services, removal of organs, servitude, slavery or practices similar to slavery.

Key Findings
Human trafficking is national in scope:
Cases in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, and numerous smaller cities and towns
Both sex trafficking and forced labour trafficking are occurring in Canada
Victims are Canadian citizens and newcomers, adults and children, women and men
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of victims
Canada is failing to effectively address this hidden national tragedy

Key Findings: Foreign Trafficking Victims in Canada
Gender:
74% women
26% men
Age:
94% adults
6% minors
Form of Exploitation:
46% forced labour
42% sexual exploitation
12% unspecified
Less than 10% of victims came forward on their own or with a lawyer to immigration authorities; most identified by police

Key Findings: Foreign Trafficking Victims in Canada
Top-four source countries:
China
Moldova
The Philippines
Romania
Victims by continent:
59%: Asia
33%: Central/Eastern Europe
4%: Africa
4%: South America

Key Findings: Foreign Sex Trafficking in Canada
Long-term sex slaves and women from war zones brought to Canada
Prostituted women in developing countries recruited by traffickers
“ Debt bondage” as a common control tactic
False offers of employment used to lure victims to Canada
Victims have been found in diverse “indoor” settings:
“ Micro-brothels”
Escort agencies
Massage parlours
Strip clubs: contracts “smack of slavery” (Canada Revenue Agency)
Advertised through Craigslist

Key Findings: Forced Labour Trafficking in Canada
Friday’s forced labour construction case in Hamilton a dramatic example
Sectors most susceptible to forced labour trafficking are “3D”: dirty, difficult, dangerous
Agriculture, construction, cleaning, domestic work, and hospitality  all sectors with forced labour victims in Canada
Victims are as young as 13
RCMP records under Access to Information Act reveal conditions:
Sleeping on mattresses in storage rooms
Using garbage bins for wash basins
Bank cards taken by employers for “tax purposes”

Key Findings: Canadian Sex Trafficking Victims
National in scope
Canadian women and girls as young as 13 recruited by sex traffickers through:
Group homes
Aboriginal youth shelters
Centres for abused women
Walking home
At high schools
Shopping malls
Bus stations
Parks
Facebook/MySpace

Key Findings: Canadian Sex Trafficking Victims
$280,000: estimated annual revenue of one Canadian sex trafficking victim
Male and female recruiters/traffickers
Tactics similar to torture used
Violent street gangs active inter and intra-provincially:
North Preston’s Finest (Nova Scotia-based)
Ledbury-Banff Crips (Ottawa-based)
Haitian gangs
Independent criminals

Key Findings: Canadian Sex Trafficking Victims in U.S.
Canadian women have become sex trafficking victims in the U.S.:
Approached in shopping malls
“ Free trip to Florida” scam
Jessie Foster’s case
$10,000 per weekend: price paid for a Canadian sex trafficking victim in Las Vegas (Edmonton Police)
RCMP “incident” report released under Access to Information Act reveals how a Canadian victim was
“ lured from Edmonton to Las Vegas, raped and beaten, then flown to Fort Lauderdale, raped and beaten again then forced into prostitution.”

Technology of Trafficking: Craigslist Aiding Sex Traffickers
Calgary Police Service:
2007: rescued missing under-age girl from B.C. sold for sex on Craigslist
“ Operation Carmel” (2007-2009): 30 arrests, 3 under-age girls rescued, women from Vancouver/Winnipeg sold by gang associates – all on Craigslist
“ Operation Street Fighter”: Asian organized crime uses Cragislist as “medium of choice” to sell women
Peel Regional Police:
Imani Nakpangi, first convicted human trafficker used Craigslist to advertise 14 year old victim with fetal alcohol syndrome and 15 year old homeless girl (June 2008)
Multiple Craigslist cases
B.C. Lower Mainland (March 2009): victim from China sold in “micro-brothels”, advertised on Craigslist
North Vancouver RCMP case (July 2009): high school girls

Technology of Trafficking: Craigslist: Canada vs. U.S. Toronto Vancouver U.S. Cities 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Monthly % Change from First Point Craigslist implemented additional measures in the U.S. but not Canada to crack down on explicit and under-age sex ads

Technology of Trafficking: Craigslist “Walmart of Child Sex Trafficking” (CNN) In September 2010, Craigslist permanently shut down its erotic/adult services section in the U.S. (but not Canada) due to infiltration by sex traffickers and pressure from law-makers. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and his provincial counterparts should demand the same. If Craigslist is unwilling to shut down its erotic services section in Canada, then charges should be laid under the Criminal Code against the company, its founder Craig Newmark, and CEO Jim Buckmaster for aiding and abetting human trafficking, child trafficking, and the prostitution of minors.

Demand
Human trafficking is demand-driven
Thousands of Canadian men have paid for sex with trafficking victims, including minors – some police have “logbooks”
Few, if any, have ever been charged – critical gap in response
Manitoba’s “Stop Sex With Kids” campaign
Purchasers/johns don’t know or don’t care if they’re paying for a trafficking victim
Sweden’s unique approach

Evaluating Canada’s Response: Prosecuting Traffickers
April 2007 – April 2009: 30 accused under Criminal Code for human trafficking
71% domestic sex trafficking
23% foreign sex trafficking
6% forced labour trafficking
Victim intimidation concerns
Inadequate sentences
“ Trafficking-related” prostitution offences critical tool for police – the same offences declared unconstitutional by Ontario Superior Court recently
Imani Nakpangi (June 2008) Canada’s First Convicted Human Trafficker

Evaluating Canada’s Response: Protecting Victims
The Good...
B.C. Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons
Action Coalition on Human Trafficking (ACT-Alberta)
Peel Regional Police “New Beginnings” Program
Non-governmental organizations making significant contributions
The Bad...
No national referral mechanism for victims
Lack of provincial plans in Quebec and Ontario:
Victims re-traumatized
11-year-old child trafficking victim locked in segregated immigration detention for a month (Montreal)
Adult foreign sex trafficking victim locked in immigration detention (Toronto)

Government of Ontario: Cost of Inaction Paid by Victims
Ontario is the top destination province in Canada for foreign victims of human trafficking (46%)
Street gangs and criminal networks are also actively targeting Canadian-born women and under-age girls for sex trafficking
Ontario does not have a provincially-mandated body to coordinate services to meet the needs of victims of human trafficking
Victims have suffered due to the province’s failure to provide services
Police and non-governmental organizations are very concerned about lack of support and services in Ontario for victims
Police in Ontario are charging an increasing number of traffickers, but victims need better help
Calling on Premier Dalton McGuinty to take action

Government of Ontario: What is the provincial government doing to help trafficking victims? “ I don’t think anything has been done.” – Detective Sergeant Mike Hamel, Toronto Police Service, Sex Crimes Unit “ We have very little infrastructure in place that would make it easy or give that victim the confidence to call the police. We just don’t seem to have the resources.” – Detective Wendy Leaver, Special Victims Unit, Toronto Police Service “ We need money for clothes and they need money for food. We had one girl from Alberta that our unit paid for out of petty cash, because our battered women’s shelters were full.” – Constable Kristine Arnold, Peel Regional Police, Vice Unit

Evaluating Canada’s Response: Preventing Human Trafficking
Prevention education for Quebec youth starts at 12 years of age
Temporary Foreign Worker program safeguards – need for “whistle-blower” protection
Cross-border efforts with Integrated Border Enforcement Teams
Universally recognized need for public awareness to see “invisible chains” of exploitation

Traffickers Have a Plan, But Canada Doesn’t “ You'll start to dress her, think for her, own her. If you and your victim are sexually active, slow it down. After sex, take her shopping for one item. Hair and/or nails is fine. She'll develop a feeling of accomplishment.” “ The shopping after a month will be replaced with cash. The love making turns into raw sex. She'll start to crave the intimacy and be willing to get back into your good graces. After you have broken her spirit, she has no sense of self value. Now pimp, put a price tag on the item you have manufactured.” – Excerpt from “ The Pimp Game; An Instructional Manual” (Royal, 1998)

Recommendations
Calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government to:
Adopt a National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking:
Fund integrated Human Trafficking Task Forces and support NGOs
Work with provinces to ensure victims can access needed services
Amend the Criminal Code:
Criminalize purchasing of sex acts, but not selling (Sweden’s model)
Change definition of “exploitation” in human trafficking offences to be consistent with UN Protocol Against Trafficking in Persons
Pre-travel notification for convicted sex offenders and restrict their online access, particularly social networking
Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act:
Protection permits to allow trafficking victims to remain in Canada to recover from their ordeals
“ Whistle-blower” protection for exploited temporary foreign workers

Recommendations
Provincial Governments:
Create and fund agency to coordinate help for victims
Ensure eligibility of victims for provincial services
Confront demand with car confiscation programs, “john schools” and public awareness campaigns
Fund “exit” programs and detox beds for those seeking to leave prostitution (85-95% want out, but see no option)
Train frontline professionals in “warning signs” of trafficking
Implement prevention education in schools from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection
Increase funding for Vice Units and specialized Crown prosecutors to prosecute traffickers

Recommendations
Other recommendations in Chapter 17 of Invisible Chains for:
Police
Businesses
Parents
Average Canadians
Community responses save lives and public awareness is key – average Canadians have recently helped trafficking victims escape by seeing the “invisible chains” controlling them

Questions? Rally in Montreal in Support of Bill C-268 (stronger sentences for child traffickers) Grandmothers Protecting Our Children Sacred Walk (Winnipeg)

End modern day slavery

by Maytree on Oct 15, 2010

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

2 Embeds 158

Statistics

End modern day slavery — Presentation Transcript

http://www.endmoderndayslavery.ca	157
http://slavery.maytree.com	1