Beyond Decriminalization: Sex-work, Human Rights and a New ...

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PIVOT LEGAL SOCIETY(NGOs) estimate that as many as 16,000 persons are trafficked into Canada per year. 27 In Canada,trafficked persons are usually discovered through police raids or when victims seek asylum. Theseincidents likely represent only a fraction of this activity – commonly-cited statistics suggest that onlyone in ten victims of trafficking come to the attention of police. 28 Therefore, it is possible that theestimates above depict only a small portion of a much larger phenomenon. 29Trafficking procedureIn Canada, it is believed that trafficking in persons is coordinated mostly in Vancouver and Torontoby organized criminal groups from South Asia and Russia, respectively. 30 These organized groups arebelieved to recruit women, men, and children for the purposes of prostitution or the drug trade. 31Most of the Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, and Thai women found in raids on brothels, massageparlours, and karaoke bars across the country told police that an agent in their home countriescharged them for transportation to Canada and for job placement. 32 The agents then sold the womento bar and brothel owners for prices ranging from $7,500 to $15,000. 33Revenue generated from trafficking in personsAccording to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, human trafficking generates an estimated$9.5 billion in annual revenue. 34The potential for profits in [trafficking] in Canada is staggering . . . The attraction for humancommodity lies in the fact that it is a resource that offers multiple opportunities to turn aprofit. Persons can be used, reused and resold. 35In some cases, instances of smuggling can turn into trafficking. Migration to Canada is geographicallychallenging, and can be financially challenging for some people as well. These challenges may increasethe vulnerability of someone migrating illegally, or being smuggled, to being trafficked. Smugglerswill move someone from Canada to the United States for a fee of $800 to $6,000, and from Asia toCanada for a fee of $30,000 to $60,000. These amounts owed to smugglers can represent a significantdebt that may require servicing through illegal activity, which can translate into years of debt-bondageand servitude. 36Challenges facing law enforcementJurisdictional issuesOne logistical challenge to combating trafficking in Canada is that it involves multiple governmentdepartments and agencies. For example, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is responsiblefor illegal migration, whereas individuals or groups who finance and engage in human traffickingfall under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency, the Department ofForeign Affairs and International Trade, the Department of Justice, the RCMP, and Solicitor General27 Donna E. Stewart and Olga Gajic-Veljanoski, “Trafficking in women: the Canadian perspective”, online: .28 Supra note 17 at 11.29 Ibid.30 Supra note 21 at 1-2.31 Ibid.32 Ibid. at 3.33 Ibid.34 Supra note 19 at 13-14.35 Supra note 17 at 13.36 Ibid. at 14.200
BEYOND DECRIMINALIZATION: Sex Work, Human Rights and a New Framework for Law ReformCanada. 37 Additionally, the covert nature of trafficking makes it difficult to detect and estimate itsfrequency, since the parties involved hide their activity. 38Detection difficult due to mobilityDetection of trafficking is difficult due to the mobile nature of the businesses and individuals whoare involved. Research suggests that women are quickly circulated between different cities. This practiceof moving sex workers to different cities or different establishment is considered to be a profitableway to do business while facing less inherent risk than retaining the same staff over a longer period oftime. 39 For example, one suspected mastermind behind a trafficking scheme told undercover policethat he had a contact in Vancouver who owned a brothel filled with Malaysian women and movedthem every six months to avoid detection. 40Due to the ease of moving sex workers from location to location, and the mobility of massageparlours, de facto brothels and other commercial sex establishments, the owners and operators ofthese establishments can be difficult to apprehend:Q. Okay, so [location omitted], but it’s closed down now. So the police busted it? . . .A. So like what happened, it’s like . . . Okay because she is not. She could not stay herethat’s why she got locked up for a few days.Q. Because from immigration?A. From the cops . . . But the cops help her out.Q. Wait, wait. Why did they lock her up?A. Because she is not Canadian, but we are Canadian. So we out. They just lock us uparound 24 hours.Q. Oh, so you were working at the massage parlour too?A. Yeah.Q. And you got busted too? So when the police came in there what did they say to youguys? Like what were their reasons for going in there?A. Well, actually they got guns and everything so they are coming in. Actually, whathappened, the one that got busted is not a real massage parlour. It’s somebody rent aplace and say we are doing massage, but we actually are doing sex.Q. What was their reason for entering was it to look for drugs or was it prostitution?A. They thought it was prostitution. They do not want the drugs but they found thedrugs. They found out all girls doing drugs and the wanted to charge them . . . Sothey need witnesses . . . So they offered me and one other girl. She is Canadian too;they offered us like to be witness so that they won’t charge us . . . Okay and [nameomitted] got a little problem because she is notsupposed to stay here, but they help her. They get the immigration letters to let herstay for the case . . . Cause they need her . . . because she knows a lot of things morethan they know at that time . . . Like she knows how the girls are coming over andstuff like that . . . They need us to prove [the massage parlour owner] is selling drugsthere to control the girls . . . He need us to prove that he, he is using us in prostitutionover there . . . And he make a lot of money and stuff like that.Q. But he had not been arrested so he got away.A. He . . . he got arrested in the jail three days but he is out.37 Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, “Fact Sheet: Trafficking in Human Beings,” 29 July 2003, online: .38 Ibid.39 Supra note 21 at 3.40 Ibid.201
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Beyond Decriminalization: Sex-work, Human Rights and a New ...

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