4 STOUFFVILLE REVIEW COMMUNITY DECEMBER <strong>2022</strong> Many human trafficking victims are as young as 13 STOUFFVILLEREVIEW.COM BY JENNIFER MCLAUGHLIN Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Human trafficking for sexual exploitation is one of the most rapidly growing and lucrative crimes worldwide, and it’s happening right here in York Region. The impact on victims, survivors, families, and communities is devastating. The Anti-Human Trafficking York Region Conference <strong>2022</strong> was recently presented virtually over four sessions. Signs and risk factors of human trafficking, community support for victims and survivors, and legislation to combat it were among the topics discussed. Human trafficking involves recruiting, transporting, transferring, receiving, holding, concealing, harbouring, or exercising control, direction, or influence over a person for exploitation. The conference focused on human trafficking involving sexual exploitation, given its prevalence in York Region. Jasmine De Fina, a human trafficking specialist for Victim Services of York Region and executive director of SafeHope, Canada’s only long-term comprehensive program for survivors of human trafficking, spoke on the conference’s opening night. She explained that a widespread misconception about human trafficking is that the victim is aware of the situation in which they’re getting involved. The victim is led to believe that they have a choice, but through threat, force, coercion, manipulation, fraud, or abuse of power, the trafficker gets the victim to do something they don’t want to do. A trafficker may meet the fundamental needs of the victim by providing food, drugs, or alcohol. Sometimes, the victim will receive lavish gifts. A dependency on the trafficker grows. She explained that the cycle of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is very similar to domestic violence in terms of the methods of control, often starting in a “honeymoon phase.” Initially, the trafficker is highly attentive and loving but eventually starts to pull back and seems angry. The victim is desperate to feel love and will do anything to get it back. In Canada, the majority of victims are women and girls. The average age of a young trafficking victim is 13. There are a variety of insecurities that can make an individual vulnerable to the dangers of trafficking. Low self-esteem, drug dependency, and abandonment are just a few. Bonnie Harkness, chief operating officer of 360°kids, spoke to conference participants about the connection between homelessness and human trafficking. She explained that some kids become homeless because of human trafficking, and some become victims of human trafficking because they are homeless. These individuals rely on “survivor sex” through trafficking to fulfil basic needs like food and shelter. The 360°kids HOPE Program provides transitional housing and wrap-around services for female survivors of human trafficking aged 16-26 in York Region. She added that given York Region is considered a relatively affluent area, it’s not only impoverished youth who become susceptible to trafficking. Kids from more wealthy families tend to be less “street smart” and can be more vulnerable to the deception that occurs when getting lured into trafficking. It’s crucial, said Harkness, to teach our kids what to look for so they are aware of the dangers that can occur in various settings and situations. Traffickers lure their victims through dating apps and other online connections, at schools, through friends or family members, and at social meeting places such as shopping malls. Visit victimservices-york. org and 360kids.ca for information.
STOUFFVILLEREVIEW.COM DECEMBER <strong>2022</strong> COMMUNITY 5 STOUFFVILLE REVIEW
Change language