December 2 was the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. Human trafficking is a form of slavery and is among the fastest growing forms of transnational crime. The United Nations estimates that the total global market value for trafficking in persons is $32 billion, next only to the illicit profits generated from drug and firearm trafficking. In 2005, the International Labour Organization estimated that at any given time approximately 2.45 million people are in situations of forced labour, including forced sexual exploitation, as a result of trafficking in persons.
Trafficking in persons is not migrant smuggling. Migrants smuggled are usually free once they reach their destination. Victims of trafficking are forced to work for their captors’ profit in the guise of repaying the cost of housing, food or forged documents.
Preventing and responding to human trafficking continue to be daunting goals for the United Nations, churches and organizations like The Salvation Army. The issue is transnational and complex. Slavery is an ever-increasing problem as people can be transported more swiftly across borders and are further exploited or threatened online in the virtual world.
Definitions
The term “trafficking in persons” means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power. Frequently, giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person is involved.
The term “exploitation” includes, but is not limited to, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.
According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, between 800 and 1,200 people are victims of human trafficking in Canada each year, most working in forced labour or the illegal sex trade. Non-government groups have higher estimates as to how many people are trafficked into Canada.
The United States State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report in June 2007 lists Canada as principally a transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Aside from the international trafficking of persons, many Canadian women and girls are trafficked within Canada’s borders across cities and provinces for sexual exploitation. Human trafficking does not require movement across international borders.
Global Response
The Salvation Army seeks to have a global response to human trafficking and forced labour and in May 2004 declared trafficking as a priority for The Salvation Army. This commitment entails:
· Calling for an international strategy
· Calling for public action
· Risk
· Impact on our total mission
Since then, throughout the Salvation Army world, initiatives have been organized and implemented to combat this evil.
The Canadian anti-trafficking network has been active since September 2004. Most representatives have joined an existing committee consisting of Salvation Army and like-minded community representatives working in areas that may come into contact with trafficked persons. Much of the work involves raising awareness and lobbying government. A subcommittee has been formed from the main network that addresses The Salvation Army’s position on current government legislation and what improvements we should lobby in favor of.
“Information is paramount,” says Dianna Bussey, chair of The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory anti-human trafficking network. “The more who are aware of human trafficking and just how subtle and entrenched it is in our very own communities, the better the fight against complacency, acceptance and tolerance of injustice against our fellow man.”
What are The Salvation Army’s goals in this area?
· To eliminate sexual trafficking.
· To raise awareness of the evil and injustice of sexual trafficking.
· To encourage people to pray about sexual trafficking.
· To lobby the Canadian Government to alter and enhance legislation applicable to trafficking.
· To financially support people at-risk of sexual trafficking in developing countries.
· To prevent at-risk Canadian youth from being trafficked into the commercial sex trade.
The Salvation Army is educating itself internally and the general public to make people more aware of the issues involved in human trafficking and to reinforce that trafficked persons are human beings with inherent human dignity and worth.
Identifying a trafficked person
A victim of trafficking may look like many of the people you help every day. You can look for clues that help you determine the person’s situation much like you would in cases of domestic violence.
· Evidence of being controlled
· Evidence of inability to move or leave a job
· Bruises or other signs of battering
· Fear or depression
· Newcomer to Canada/Non-English speaking
· Lack of passport, immigration or identification documents
If you suspect someone has been trafficked try to speak with the person privately and confidentially and then contact law enforcement. The person they came with could be a trafficker posing as a spouse, family member or interpreter.
Statistics
· The average age of recruitment into commercial sexual exploitation in Canada is 14 to 15 years of age.
· 90 per cent of people sexually trafficked or prostituted are women and girls.
· Things that make women/girls more vulnerable to trafficking are: poverty, loss of parents, and histories of sexual abuse.
Take Action
The Salvation Army operates a fair trade shop (www.sallyann.no) with handicrafts made by former prostituted persons in Bangladesh. They are currently in the process of establishing Sally Ann International (SAI) as a company. When the shop becomes online or international encourage people to buy products from it.
Support The Salvation Army’s international development programs working with vulnerable women and children.
Requests to government
· Establish a government-funded program to trafficked persons (i.e. a 24-hour hotline, safe houses, etc.)
· Provide funding for law enforcement and immigration training on trafficking as well as protection services.
· Oppose legalizing prostitution.
If you would like more information or to learn how you can better support these efforts please contact Dianna Bussey at (204) 949-2100 or Dianna_Bussey@can.salvationarmy.org.
by Carol Lowes
