When I first returned to my homeland of Canada two and a half years ago, I was hired as frontline staff in a privately-run group home and was assigned to “Amy”. I was eager to get back to one-on-one work with young women in the hope of guiding them toward empowerment and personal growth. I had no idea that I would be facing a seventeen-year-old’s trauma of being trafficked for sex within the GTA — and worse still, that she had been a victim of that lucrative industry since she was thirteen years old.

1. Website: bayridgecounsellingcentres.ca Ph.No. (905) 319-1488
World Day Against
Trafficking

2. Website: bayridgecounsellingcentres.ca Ph.No. (905) 319-1488
When I first returned to my homeland of Canada two and a half years
ago, I was hired as frontline staff in a privately-run group home and was
assigned to “Amy”. I was eager to get back to one-on-one work with
young women in the hope of guiding them toward empowerment and
personal growth. I had no idea that I would be facing a seventeen-year-
old’s trauma of being trafficked for sex within the GTA — and worse
still, that she had been a victim of that lucrative industry since she was
thirteen years old.
The Current Facts
While the crimes associated with human trafficking — kidnapping,
threats, and extortion, among others — have been illegal for many
decades, human trafficking itself only became recognized as a specific
crime and therefore as illegal in Canada in 2005. According to the
Statistics Canada report of June 27/2018, nearly 60% of traffickers
escape conviction due to Canada’s inadequate laws. The average age of
initiation of these victims is thirteen years old. The few who are
eventually found and rescued are usually around seventeen years of age
by the time they are removed from trafficking.
Many people believe that human trafficking is not a concern in Canada;
the assumption is that it only occurs in the United States, and the victims
are exclusive to low-income females from outside the country.
Although some victims do fit that profile, they are not the only ones who
fall prey to human trafficking. 90% of children trafficked are Canadian-
born, and it is suspected that the numbers rise into the thousands per
year. There is no accurate data as this is such a hidden and hard crime to
track. What we do know is that this crime is real and it’s happening in
our noses.

3. Website: bayridgecounsellingcentres.ca Ph.No. (905) 319-1488
How it Happens
Young girls and boys are scouted at malls, cafés, clubs, and in parks.
The age of the trafficker usually ranges between eighteen and thirty-
four. The trafficker is often male, and charming. These predators look
mostly for young, insecure girls, but they will also target boys should
they fit the profile. These young victims can be taken, drugged, and
uploaded onto social media pages created exclusively for selling sex —
all within twenty-four hours of the first encounter. However, some
proceed the “enchantment” process a little slower as to protect
suspicions from parents or adults in the victims life. Yet, the one
common denominator is that the aggressor always isolates his victims;
whether slowly or immediately.
The charming young man will typically start to lure these youth into his
world through offering the child attention, affection, and gifts. Once the
predator has gained the victim’s trust, he tends to either drug them and

4. Website: bayridgecounsellingcentres.ca Ph.No. (905) 319-1488
post them up for “sex rental”, making her service up to six clients a day
in local motels; or he makes them believe that the gifts they have
received from him need to be paid back. Since these youth have no
money of their own, they agree to doing whatever he asks in order to
“pay back” what they think they might owe him. They aren’t told that
this is now their “job” indefinitely — until they either escape, risking
their life in the process, or are killed by succumbing to a lifestyle of
abuse, drugs, and the perception of worthlessness.
Anyone is subject to being trafficked. It is not exclusive to the lower-
income, single-parent home. Girls from the upper middle class and
relatively well-protected families have been lured in. What makes the
difference?
 Insecure
 Low self-esteem
 Lack of identity
 Lack of self-worth
 Impressionable
 Youth living on their own or often alone in the community
 Youth with a mental disorder: ie. depression, PTSD, learning
disabilities, FDAS, mood disorder among others
 Youth with a perceived lack of attention or acceptance from caretakers
or parents
 Easily seduced by gifts and compliments
As you can see, this could apply to any social class. As per police
reports, the ages of victims ranges from anywhere between twelve years
old and early thirties. It happens so fast that many are ashamed to
confess, report it, or admit to being lured in. In order to sustain that life,
many become addicted to drugs and alcohol, adding to their shame and
making it incredibly difficult for them to stay out even after they have
been “rescued”.

5. Website: bayridgecounsellingcentres.ca Ph.No. (905) 319-1488
The Real Rescue
The real rescue comes after being returned to either a “Safe-House” or
their family. These girls are confused, frightened, and many say they
feel “dead inside.” Very few therapists are trained to treat these
traumatized women and men. Many families are just so overjoyed to
have their daughter, sister, son, or brother back that they do not
understand the devastation that their loved one went through, and many
do not seek professional help for their loved one.
As a longtime therapist treating abduction and torture trauma in Mexico,
I was appalled to see this epidemic happening before my eyes in my
“safe” country of Canada. To stop the aftermath from destroying their
life, seek help. There is hope and there is life after trafficking for both
the victims and their families. Reach out and report any suspicions you
have toward any youth!
Red flags of being trafficked already
 Isolated or unable to go and come as they please
 Minimal communication with parents or loved ones including friends
 Nervousness or anxiousness
 Often will not look people in the eyes, especially adults or authority
figures
 Justifications for partner or boyfriends behaviour
 Loss of weight
 Expression of tired-ness or exhaustion
 Not able or allowed to speak for themselves
 Not in charge of their expenses or money
 No access to their I.D.’s
 Many times fake eyelashes and nails, hair extensions and provocative
clothes
–

6. Website: bayridgecounsellingcentres.ca Ph.No. (905) 319-1488
While I would prefer that human trafficking not be a true reality, I am
encouraged that my years of private practice can be used here to help
these young victims and their families overcome the horrendous
nightmare from which they are only just now waking up. However, I’m
just one person; we must all be a part of helping this atrocity come to an
end. If you know a young person susceptible to being lured in to the
trafficking industry, seek professional help for them. Get them to a
specialist that can teach them the red flags and that can help build their
self-confidence and self identity.
References
 https://www.flare.com/news/reality-of-human-trafficking/
 https://fspeel.org/wp-
content/uploads/2018/04/Human_Trafficking_in_Canada_Ontario_
and_Peel_Feb2018.pdf
 https://engagetogether.com/2018/02/22/human-trafficking-101-
victims/
Source: https://www.bayridgecounsellingcentres.ca/world-day-against-
trafficking/