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Human Trafficking In Canada

This blog is to inform others like you about child trafficking in Canada. Most of us don't really know it is happening because we hardly hear it on the news or read about it in the papers. We believe that it is important to know what's happening to children and youth in our country... Canada.

"Raise awareness and diminish vulnerability "People are NOT to be SOLD"

How many people are being trafficked in Canada?

Because human trafficking is a hidden, clandestine operation, reliable statistics are difficult to obtain. The R.C.M.P. Criminal Intelligence Directorate estimated in 2004 that 800 people are trafficked into Canada each year, 600 of which are destined for the sex trade. They also estimated that 1,500 – 2,200 people are trafficked from Canada into the U.S.A. annually. According to Canadian non-governmental organizations, the numbers of foreign women brought into the Canadian sex trade each year are much higher. There are also many Canadian women who ar trafficked within Canadian borders.

Who is being trafficked into the sex trade in Canada?

Young women who have been sexually exploited/abused in the past are more vulnerable to trafficking.

Canada’s Aboriginal female population is prostituted and trafficked in disproportionate levels. Aboriginal youth are only 3 – 5% of the Canadian population, and yet in some cities they are 90% of the visible sex trade.

According to research conducted by Michael Chettleburgh, gang expert, quoted in Cherry, Tamara. “Flesh trade targets natives,”Toronto Sun, Monday, September 29, 2008.

How do women get trafficked into the sex trade in Canada?

Often, Canadian youth are approached at airports, bus stations, malls or youth facilities, and offered “friendship” which leads to trafficking. Other times they are trafficked to events like fairs, sports events or exhibitions. Those outside of Canada are sometimes brought to Canada on student or visitor visas. Some think they will be coming to Canada to study, others to work, others to get married. The majority of human trafficking victims are trafficked by someone they know and trust.