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An example of stats of human traffcking thorughout the GTA - Peel region. this is just a small fraction as we still have durham and scarborough , Markham etc.

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Forcing someone into commercial sex acts is a crime.

It's a serious threat to everyone's basic right to live free of violence. Many victims face long-lasting effects of trauma and the number of young women lured into this life continues to increase. Most victims are female.

Male victims are under-reported. Unless they get help, many boys shift from being victims to victimizing other boys and girls.

Ontario accounts for more than half of the cases in Canada. The GTA is near all major highways and the airport, making it a sex trafficking hub. This allows for easier movement of victims across the country.

The crime of human sex trafficking has surpassed gun and drug trafficking for the first time in history. This speaks to the urgent need to address this heinous crime.

The numbers

70% of human trafficking victims identified by police are under the age of 25.

62% of Canadian human trafficking cases originate in the GTA.

12 to 24 years old is the average age of victims.

63% of victims trafficked in Ontario are Canadian citizens.

What we're doing

In June 2018, Peel Regional Council endorsed a 3 year pilot for A Strategy to Address Human Sex Trafficking in Peel Region. In June 2022, Region Council endorsed the permanent program with an intended outcome to increase awareness and coordinated access to dedicated and dignified services to victims, survivors, and those at-risk of sex trafficking in Peel.

Help is available

If you're a victim or survivor of human sex trafficking or forced labour, or you know someone who is, contact the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-900-1010.

The strategy aligns with the Province of Ontario's anti-human trafficking strategy 2020-2025.

Peel's strategy will address human sex trafficking through:

This approach:

Supports victims and survivors and those at-risk of human sex trafficking.

Bridges the gap in services.

Provides safe housing and dedicated services.

Increase awareness through prevention and education programs delivered mainly by the Peel Human Trafficking Service Providers Committee.

Both school boards in Peel are interested in working with the Region on the implementation of the strategy.

The video, What is Sex Trafficking, was produced by Rhonelle Bruder, a survivor and advocate. The target audience of this video is parents, caregivers and school-aged children.

Our general elearning module provides an overview about human sex trafficking. Private businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities can use this module.

A Peel-specific elearning module has is also available on our internal channels for Peel Region staff.

Virtual training sessions are being delivered to frontline and management Peel Region employees. The focus is on how staff can support someone who may be at-risk of or has shared personal experience with human sex trafficking.

If you would like more information about the Peel Human Sex Trafficking Strategy, email us at antihumantrafficking@peelregion.ca

An integrated services hub called nCourage opened in Winter 2021 to increase access to easy, reliable, wrap-around services for victims and survivors. Contact them at 905-866-2831 or by email. Visit ncourage.ca for more information.
Services include:

Case management

Trauma counselling

Outreach

System navigation

Life skills

Continuing education

Family reunification

All services are free-of-charge and are offered onsite at a confidential location.

We've increased access to safe and supportive housing for victims and survivors. This includes 2 separate houses for human sex trafficking victims and survivors:

1 safe emergency house (for up to 6 months).

1 transitional house (from 6 months to 2 years).

The safe house opened on April 15, 2020 and the transitional house opened April 6, 2021.

Contact Elizabeth Fry Hope and Help for Women at 905-459-1315 or by email. Visit efryhopehelp.com for more information.

The committee includes the meaningful involvement of victims and survivors. It's made up of organizations from Peel and the Greater Toronto Area. The committee includes the indigenous, education, employment, legal, health and social services sectors.

The goal of the committee is to reduce victimization and enforce human trafficking laws. It will offer services to empower and support victims and survivors in rebuilding their lives.

The mandate of the task force is to:

Seek and secure sustainable funding for the housing and hub services.

Champion the issue of human sex trafficking beyond Peel to advocate for its replication across Ontario.

Identify ways to increase awareness in the various sectors.

Encourage action on this issue.

The Task Force includes the following members:

Co-Chairs - Region of Peel and Peel Regional Police

Survivor Advocate and international disrupter

RCMP

Chief of Mental Health, Trillium Health Partners

OPP

Peel Crown Attorney (dedicated to HT)

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

University of Toronto

Women's College Research Institute

Peel Medical Officer of Health

The Social Work Association of Ontario

Regional Councillor

Peel School Boards

Peel Children's Aid Society

Native Child and Family Services of Toronto

Provincial Anti-Human Trafficking Coordination Office, Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (Ex-Officio)

Peel Human Trafficking Service Providers Committee (Ex-Officio)

From Concept to Action: A Strategy to Address Human Sex trafficking in Peel (May 2021)
This detailed guide shares the process of developing and launching Peel's strategy to address human sex trafficking. It includes our learnings, resources, best practices and key messages that can be adapted to other local contexts. Our hope is that the guide will assist other communities, organizations, law enforcement, municipal governments, schools and collaboratives looking to develop their own anti-sex trafficking strategies and prompt thinking about ways to allocate resources, utilize champions, define activities, prioritize efforts and leverage existing partnerships.

To receive a copy of the resource guide, contact antihumantrafficking@peelregion.ca.

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In June 2022, Region Council endorsed the permanent program with an intended outcome to increase awareness and coordinated access to dedicated and dignified services to victims, survivors, and those at-risk of sex trafficking in Peel.

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Alot of people who are caught in the human traffcking ring are scared to leave because of what they think their consequences might be. There are ALWAYS resources to call confidentially for example a hot line.

Victims need to know that they are not alone and there are numbers to call. human trafficking is not legal!

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human traffickong canada - Google Search

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'It is a crime that knows no borders — it exists in small towns and in big cities,' says Det. Alison Church

ALERT is a great way to get support. A lot of people feel like human trafficking does not happen near them but you will be surprised to know the stats and how many girls/ women get caught and trapped in this traumatic crime against them

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In the last three years, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams have laid more than 300 charges through human trafficking investigations.

During that period, these complex cases have been the purview of a dedicated unit within ALERT.

But, as Det. Alison Church with the section responsible for the area north of Red Deer acknowledges, it's just scratching the surface of an often underreported crime.

"We are seeing investigations that we simply wouldn't have seen before because we didn't have that collaboration with other police services," Church says.

ALERT was first established in 2006 and for the average Albertan is likely most known for drug busts - photos of cops and tables laden with narcotics, money, and guns. Its mandate is to combat serious and organized crime by forming teams of officers from various agencies: Edmonton Police Service, RCMP, Calgary Police Service, and others.

ALERT's human trafficking unit was started in 2020, the same year a provincially-mandated Alberta Human Trafficking Task Force began investigating the topic.

Church said, before the ALERT unit was created, the cross-jurisdictional and specialized nature of human trafficking posed barriers to individual police forces.

"If we didn't have that responsibility for northern Alberta, there would be investigations that would either fall through the cracks, or that wouldn't be investigated properly," she said.

"Because it is a crime that knows no borders - it exists in small towns and in big cities - that collaboration is very important."

One way traffickers operate is by controlling the movement of victims. In 2021, the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking released a report on "human trafficking corridors" - routes through which people are habitually moved for exploitation.

Within Alberta, human trafficking links the major two cities with Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray, connecting the province's largest online commercial sex markets and markets affiliated with extraction work camps in the north.

The report says a growing trend is the number of victims and survivors from Quebec who speak little to no English, the language barrier serving as another method of control.

Trafficking in Alberta

Human trafficking has become more pronounced in the past decade, according to law enforcement reporting. Police-reported incidents from 2011 to 2021 across Canada grew from 60 to 352; within Alberta, it went from two to 38.

That's only for one charge - CC 1525 trafficking in persons - but perpetrators would likely face a slew of other charges as well.

Whether the problem is getting worse or coming to light more is obscured by gaps in available data.

"The data is so incredibly flawed," said Kate Price, executive director of the Action Coalition on Human Trafficking Alberta (ACT). The organization provides services to trafficking victims over 18.

Price stresses ACT clients are not pressured in any way to go to police and that there are many barriers to doing so.

Evidence is difficult to provide, especially in situations where a perpetrator has had such control over a victim's life. Repeatedly retelling the story can be a painful process. What's caught in the statistics is just the "tip of the iceberg" for what happens in Alberta, Price said.

One of the Alberta task force's primary recommendations was to enhance and centralize data collection and research. Price said the lack of data can make it difficult to identify trends and direct policy.

On Friday, the province announced $4 million over two years has been set aside to launch an office to combat human trafficking, whose work will include improving data collection. It's part of $22 million set aside for anti-trafficking initiatives in this year's budget.

Establishing an office to oversee anti-trafficking efforts was another recommendation from the task force.

Within enforcement, Price said police are generally under-resourced for human trafficking and typically only pursue sex trafficking - ACT also supports clients who have been trafficked for labour.

That makes ACT's client demographics different from what's captured in police-reported statistics. According to Statistics Canada, 96 per cent of the 2,688 trafficking victims detected between 2011 and 2021 were women and girls.

Price said many of her clients identify as men and have an international background, which creates additional barriers. Trans and non-binary individuals are also often targeted, she said.

Supporting victims

About a year after it was established, ALERT's human trafficking unit began embedding workers from the Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation (CEASE).

The Edmonton-based organization has existed for decades to support victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking. Executive director Liz John-West said the organization has had informal working relationships with detectives for years (CEASE does not require clients to report, however).

She said around the time the ALERT unit was formed, CEASE had brainstormed how it could be part of the growing momentum to combat human trafficking within the province. They teamed up with ALERT, providing a member who gives community and wraparound support to victims and guides them through the court system.

John-West said more people are coming forward and accessing the service.

"We will see more and more human trafficking cases coming up, not because we have more, but because we're putting resources into it."

Public misconceptions

A secondary aspect of the ALERT unit is education. Church said the agency gives presentations at schools and even to fellow cops.

"There are also police officers who are at times dealing with something and they aren't aware that what they're dealing with is trafficking."

She said the public is not aware of the magnitude of trafficking.

"One of the biggest misconceptions of human trafficking is that it doesn't happen here," she said.

"They don't believe it happens in Spruce Grove. They don't believe it happens in Grand Prairie. They don't believe it happens in Fort McMurray."

John-West warns it's something that can happen to anyone.

"We can all be groomed," she said, warning that anyone can be charmed and lured in, and that in some cases that phase can last for up to a year.

It's often not some random kidnapping as dramatized in film - according to the police-reported data from 2011 to 2021, more than 90 per cent of victims knew their accused trafficker.

But Price said it's also important to employ empathy and nuance in thinking of a victim's circumstances.

"When people want to only think of one kind of human trafficking experience ... and it's an idea or an image they can wrap their head around, we just always ask people to remember that that's one experience.

"And that this can be so different for each individual, and that doesn't make their experience less horrible or have less value to them."

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Combating human trafficking is a top policing priority in Alberta. But many challenges lie ahead | CBC News

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In the last three years, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams have laid more than 300 charges related to human trafficking.

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I live in Durham but i understand that not a lot of people live in this area.

This is a resource for many in the area and it also goes for the same victims throughout the GTA . This site helps you to learn the stages and the kind of victims there are because not one victim is the same it can range form litltle girls to women.

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Human Trafficking is a criminal process whereby individuals seek to secure economic advantage through the exploitation of others. Usually involving the forced provision of unpaid (or underpaid) labour services without the free consent of the laborer/victim. Human Trafficking includes many conditions or circumstances, such as: slavery, debt bondages/indentured labour, forced labour exploitation, domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation. It often involves the selling of another person's body or labour.

Sex Trafficking means recruiting, transporting, transferring, holding, concealing, or harbouring a person, or exercising control, direction or influences over the movement of a person, for the purpose of sexually exploiting them or facilitating their sexual exploitation.

Warning Signs

Person is not allowed to speak for themselves and their activities are controlled by someone else.

Person is always being moved, usually from hotel to hotel.

Drug use/dependence.

Tattoos or scarring may be an indication of branding by trafficker. (Traffickers initials or names)

Unable to access their own money or other resources. Some victims have a sudden increase in money available to them.

Signs of physical abuse, fear, shame and guilt.

Distrust for persons of authority. (Law enforcement etc.)

New clothes / jewelry / electronics (phones, iPads).

Note: There are many signs to watch for that indicate someone may be a victim of Human Trafficking. However the signs do not confirm a person is involved in prostitution or forced labour.

Stages of Sex Trafficking

Recruitment and Grooming Stage
Sex traffickers typically seek out vulnerable individuals. Traffickers utilize various tactics to manipulate and install varying degrees of violence & fear. Traffickers may offer or force victim to use drugs and or alcohol. Traffickers begin to provide all the basic and essential need to the victims. Traffickers build a relationship with the victim where the victim truly believes they are in a romantic relationship with their traffickers. Victims may refer to their traffickers as their partner (i.e. boyfriend etc.)

Segregation Stage
Sex trafficker begins to remove the victim from their social support and family ties. The victim may be moved to different locations or being to be distant from family and friends.

Control Stage
During this stage traffickers have the victim work in the sex trade including; strip clubs, massage parlours or brothels, providing escort services online or performing sexual services on the street. During this stage the trafficker mentors and directs the victim to conduct specific acts and meet certain demands. Victims may receive a daily minimum amount of money in order to avoid consequences (i.e. physical abuse, deprivation or food, drug of choice, even sexual abuse).

Isolation stage
Is the stage the trafficker enforces the rules that govern the victim. At this stage the victim would have likely experienced some form of emotional, physical, or sexual violence. The abuse will become the norm if the victim is not earning enough money or disobeys the trafficker. This cycle of violence leaves the victim feeling helpless and under the traffickers control.

Who's at Risk?

Those who are likely to be at-risk include persons who are socially or economically disadvantaged. According to Government/Public Safety of Canada Statistics certain populations are noted to be at an increased risk of victimization including: Women, youth and children, newcomers to Canada, teenaged runways, children and youth in the care of CAS, Indigenous woman and youth, as well as girls and women who may be lured to large urban centers or who move or migrate voluntarily to those areas.

Factors most often mentioned in research that are most associated with risk of victimization for human trafficking include, but are not limited to:

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Human Trafficking - Durham Regional Police Service

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The official website of the Durham Regional Police Service.

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Students and everyone should understand that it doesnt just start with a simple kidnapping. You can become a victim through close friends or even a family member. They allow you to feel comfortable and then next thing you know you are trapped working and having unwanted sexual activities with 100s without your permission.

this is a story of someone being exploited from since 2019! Look at the year now. it takes a very long time for the law to bust down on traffickers and it take a long time for the victims to come out for help as they are scared

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Several police forces and a federal agency investigated allegations that someone was being trafficked since 2019, according to Ontario Provincial Police. Now, four young people from Ottawa are facing a combined 23 charges.

WARNING: This article contains allegations of abuse.
Someone who was allegedly being sexually exploited since 2019 is now safe, and four other people - all from Ottawa and all in their 20s - are facing human trafficking charges, according to Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

A Wednesday morning OPP news release painted a picture of a wide-ranging investigation that began in October 2022, when "police were made aware of a female youth being human trafficked across Ontario and Quebec."

Several agencies worked on the case, according to the OPP: its own human trafficking unit; Ontario's human trafficking partnership, known as the IJFS; local police officers in Ottawa, Kingston and Akwesasne; and FINTRAC, the federal financial intelligence service.

OPP didn't say when or where the four people were arrested. They range in age from 22 to 26 and face a total of 23 charges.

All are accused of trafficking in persons and procuring sexual services. Three of the four have been charged with advertising sexual services, while other common charges include getting material benefits from trafficking and sexual services.

The 26-year-old faces 11 of the charges, including assault, sexual assault and having a prohibited weapon.

They and one other accused remain in custody, while OPP said the other two have been released until their next court appearance.

As is often the case, OPP said they suspect other people may have been affected and anyone with information can call their local police department or the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local services via the or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. The OPP suggests the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-900-1010​​.
If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, call 911.

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4 young adults charged after lengthy human trafficking investigation | CBC News

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Several police forces and a federal agency investigated allegations that someone was being trafficked since 2019, according to Ontario Provincial Police. Now, four young people from Ottawa are facing a combined 23 charges.

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You may wonder how will i know if someone is a victim to human trafficking. There are always signs this website will help victims family and friends understand what signs to look for and what they can do to help the situation

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Human trafficking, mainly for sexual exploitation, continues to be an issue in Canada.

Knowing how to recognize acts, victims and perpetrators of human trafficking can help everyone prevent and report this issue.

On this page

Warning signs

A victim of human trafficking may show one or more of these signs:

Appears to be controlled by someone else (i.e. being escorted or watched)

Shows visible signs of branding or scarring (indicating ownership by the trafficker)

Shows signs of malnourishment

Doesn't speak on their own behalf

Doesn't have a passport or other ID

Isn't familiar with the neighborhood they live or work in

Is frequently moving or being moved

Has injuries or bruises from physical abuse

Expresses fear/intimidation through facial expressions and/or body language

Risk factors

Anyone can fall prey to a human trafficker. Traffickers are expert manipulators and predators. They are great at finding the vulnerabilities of potential victims. Some people are more vulnerable to traffickers due to things that are out of their control such as individual, family/community and societal factors.

These vulnerabilities, when added together, increase the risk-factors for certain people, including:

Migrant workers

New immigrants

Youth

Indigenous persons

Women and girls

People living in poverty

People living with substance use disorders

Survivors of abuse and trauma

People who identify as 2SLGBTQ+

People experiencing cultural or societal inequities

No one chooses to be exploited.

Recruiting tactics

Victims usually meet traffickers in person, online, or through mutual friends or acquaintances. Recruiters identify the vulnerabilities of potential victims, such as the desire to be loved or to belong, or an addiction to a substance. They may shower victims with love or entice them with the promise of a glamourous life. They could promise money, brand name clothes, work or education, financial aid for their family, etc.

Traffickers approach potential victims in many ways, including:

Pretending to be a potential love interest, friend or sponsor

Posting newspaper or Internet ads for jobs and opportunities

Threatening or kidnapping them

Connecting with them over social media

Controlling victims

To deceive victims, traffickers often promise a better or more glamourous life, or a relationship.

To control them, traffickers may destroy their self-confidence or use violence, including physical and emotional abuse, and extortion. They isolate and manipulate victims, and typically control their:

money

identification documents (such as a passport)

work locations

living arrangements

relationships

Traffickers' identities

Human traffickers could be anyone. They may approach potential victims in many ways, including pretending to be a potential boyfriend or friend. Traffickers may be:

transnational organized crime groups

smaller, decentralized criminal groups that specialize in recruiting, transporting or harbouring victims

small family criminal groups who control the entire operation

individuals working independently for profit or personal gain

In Canada, the majority of persons accused of human trafficking are males between the ages of 18 and 34.

Location of trafficking for sexual exploitation

Victims of sexual exploitation could be anywhere in Canada. Examples include:

Hotels and motels

Nightclubs or bars

Escort services

Massage parlours

Private residences

Short-term vacation/accommodation rentals

Online platforms

Location of trafficking for forced labour

Victims of forced labour crimes could be anywhere in Canada. Examples include:

Non-unionized industries

Restaurants

Hotels or in the hospitality industry

Commercial agriculture sites

Construction sites

Private residences

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Human trafficking, mainly for sexual exploitation, continues to be an issue in Canada. Knowing how to recognize acts, victims and perpetrators of human trafficking can help everyone prevent and report this issue. A victim of human trafficking may show one or more of these signs: Appears to be controlled by someone else (i.e.

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Police stats canada a visual of what i describe

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Men of all ages buying their victims wihtout a shame.

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They like to keep their victims scared and locked up so they cannot escape- they are making money off of them.

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