The Human Trafficking of Women and Young Girls in Canada
Introduction
The problem of human trafficking is an international problem that several nations have identified as a threat to their future development. The United Nations has expressly put forward that the human trafficking is a threat to the attainment the millennium development goals and national security to many nations (Territo & Kirkham, 2009). In addition to the threat to national security and development, human trafficking leads to modern slavery; this is the most heinous form of human rights violations. Asia and South America have been singled out as the leading regions in human trafficking. Lawlessness and organized crime have allowed the practice to flourish in these regions. However, the predicament of human trafficking has managed to spill over to the international stage. Victims of human trafficking have been found to be in transit to other nations. Canada has been identified as a source, transit and destination of victims of human trafficking (Aronowitz, 2009). Women and young girls have been identified to be the leading victims in human trafficking in Canada. Additionally, the numbers of those trafficked in Canada is constantly rising. The government and the major stakeholders have since recognized the existence of the problem and have developed programs to assist in curbing the problem. This research paper seeks to indicate the manner in which women and young girls especially of aboriginal origin are victims of human trafficking. The paper will also indicate the causes of internal human trafficking and the impacts of such criminal actions. Finally, the paper will provide an analysis of the measures taken by both central government and other interested parties in ending human trafficking.
Definition of Human Trafficking
Before delving further into the ways and means young girls and women are trafficked in Canada, it is of paramount significance to define the mentioned human trafficking. The definition of human trafficking can be divided into two fundamental components. First, the definition has to determine the act that leads the availability of the victims and secondly the definition has to determine the purpose for such trafficking (McCabe & Manian, 2010).
In the process gaining victims, human trafficking involves several steps. First the process requires that the victim be recruited into the criminal act, wherein young girls and women are recruited either through deception, intimidation and coercion, fraud or abuse of power by those within their ability to access the victims (Aronowitz, 2009). The next step of human trafficking process is transporting, transferring or harboring the victims. During this phase, young girls and women are transferred to different locations either within the country or outside the borders. The final step in this process is receiving the victims where human traffickers have identified locations that are meant to be receiving centers for the victims.
The purpose of such transfer of human is fundamental for the definition of human trafficking. The main purpose that has been identified to be the root cause of trafficking of women and young girl is for sexual exploitation and forced labor (Schneider, 2009). Most women who have been involved in human trafficking have been found to be sex slaves in their destination location. They do so at the behest of their abductors or those who facilitated the human trafficking. Additionally, victims of human trafficking have also been into pushed slavery, where they work at the command of others without pay. Servitude, especially in western nations and the Middle East, has been the leading cause of most human trafficking. This exploitation of fellow human beings is what ideally defines human trafficking.
Human trafficking in Canada
As earlier stated, Canada has been found to be a source, transit and destination of human trafficking. Several incidences have been reported in different locations of the country that prove that Canada is in the middle of a wider international scheme involving human trafficking. Within Canada, trafficking has been found to target women and young girls and most of these victims have been found to be aboriginal. These statistics are in line with international statics that indicate that 80% of all victims of human trafficking are women and young girls (McCabe & Manian, 2010). In addition, it has also been identified that 79% of women trafficked are meant for sex trade. During 2005, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police reported that about 800-600 people are trafficked yearly into Canada, and that extra 1500-2200 people are trafficked into the United States through Canada; this confirms the assertion that Canada is a destination and transit point for human trafficking. In addition, Future Group, a humanitarian NGO in Canada, examined the best practices adopted by eight advanced countries to support human trafficking victims, and reported that Canada scored lowest. This is because Canada has disregarded calls for reforms and has continued to re-traumatize the victims of human trafficking (Aronowitz, 2009). To properly understand human trafficking in Canada, it is vital to review specific cases of victims of human trafficking.
Domestic victims in Canada
The victims of human trafficking can be broadly categorized into two groups. The first group of victims that can be identified is the domestic victims. Domestic victims are Canadian citizens, who are recruited, transported and exploited. Lindell (2012) asserts that in Canada, the majority of women and the young girls who end up as domestic victims of human trafficking are marginalized. There are several reasons as why the aboriginal women and young girl have fallen victim to human trafficking.
The first reason that has pushed Canadian women and young girls into a state of vulnerability is due to the high rate of violence against women and young girls in aboriginal communities (Media Relations, Public Safety Canada, 2012). Gender inequality in aboriginal communities in Canada has allowed violence against women to flourish. Lindell (2012) argues that some communities in aboriginal Canada have as high as 90% violence rate. Reports indicate that aboriginal women are 4 to 5 times more likely to lose their lives to violence than the rest of women in the country. Moreover, other statistics indicate that spousal homicide among the aborigines is the highest in the country. Aborigine villages around Manitoba record the highest number of missing women and young children who may be feared dead (Media Relations, Public Safety Canada, 2012).
Additionally, aboriginal communities also suffer extremely high poverty rates, low literacy levels and perhaps the highest unemployment rate in the country (Territo & Kirkham, 2009). These issues, coupled with promise of a brighter future, are extremely luring for these victims. Offenders and abductors use the knowledge and information that aboriginal women would rather work elsewhere than be targeted with violence and in some cases domestic rape. With this knowledge, organized crime syndicates have developed an elaborate plan to seek and coerce aboriginal women into trafficking.
International Victims
Canada is one of the most developed nations in the world (Media Relations, Public Safety Canada, 2012). At present, a severe economic situation coupled with a promise of a brighter future in Canada, has led to a migration of trafficked women and young girls across the border into Canada. Most women and young girls who find themselves in Canada may have done so because of promises of a well paying job and better life. Other victims that may have found themselves trafficked into Canada are foreign students. For a fee, these students willingly travel into Canada through illegal means only to find themselves, not in school and forced into sex trade and slavery.
International Protocol on Human Trafficking
The international community having appreciated the existence and the degrading nature of human trafficking decided to come up with an international protocol that would define means and measures to combat trafficking (Media Relations, Public Safety Canada, 2012). Canada, being one of the signatories to the protocol is required to undertake four steps in fighting trafficking. First, all signatories are required to protect potential victims of human trafficking and at the same time provide refuge for survivors. Secondly, the Canadian government is tasked with prosecuting offenders involved in human trafficking. Thirdly, the government is required by the protocol to prevent the flourishing of human trafficking by addressing the root cause of the trafficking. Finally, the protocol requires Canada and other nations to collaborate in order to coordinate the fight against human trafficking. The United Nations takes the responsibility to monitor and report progress on every nation in attempting to meet these international protocols (Schneider, 2009).
Canada’s response to Human Trafficking
The government of Canada has since taken the initiative to end human trafficking in the country. The first effort by the country was to enact laws that would ensure that human trafficking is outlawed. In 2005, the government enacted the first law, referred to as Bill C-49 that outlawed trafficking (Media Relations, Public Safety Canada, 2012). The bill declares a felony on any activity that involves recruiting, transiting and concealing any person for the sake of economic exploitation. The law further outlaws any activity that allows anyone to benefit economically from transiting humans illegally. However, the enacted of the law did not do much to deter human trafficking. This called for a review of the strategy adopted in order to increase the effectiveness in the fight against human trafficking (Territo & Kirkham, 2009).
The current Harper government took note of the less effective measures and introduced new measures to fight human trafficking. The Harper government first identified and appreciated that human trafficking as a national problem. Thus, the government developed the first National Action Plan. The National Action Plan is a proposal of guidelines and measures that will coordinate about 18 governmental departments and units in combating human trafficking. According to the national plan, the government seeks to establish the first ever dedicated law enforcement unit that will be concerned with human trafficking. The plan also looks to have the law enforcement unit to be thoroughly trained on identification and responding to human trafficking offenders. Thirdly, the plan calls for a comprehensive and inclusive program that provides for a safe haven for rescued victims both domestic and international. Finally, the plan identifies the need for intergovernmental and international coordination in fighting human trafficking (Media Relations, Public Safety Canada, 2012).
Conclusion
The problem of human trafficking may be viewed in the same manner as drug trafficking. The vice is controlled by extremely organized criminal groups that seem to be making a fortune out of the trade. Similarly, these crime syndicates have managed to compromise law enforcement agents through bribery and coercion. However, it is imperative to note that the repercussions of human trafficking are degrading to the society and threaten the very fabric of any community. In Canada, human trafficking is a leading crime and effort must be taken to combat the vice. The government has taken a good course, and if the national action plan is properly executed, human trafficking will considerably reduce.
References
Aronowitz, A. (2009). Human trafficking, human misery: The global trade in human beings. Boston, MS: Greenwood Publishing Group,.
Lindell, R. (2012, june 12). Suspected teenage human traffickers used social media to lure victims. Retrieved july 19, 2012, from http://www.globalnews.ca: http://www.globalnews.ca/crime/6442659528/story.html
McCabe, K., & Manian, A. (2010). Sex trafficking: A global perspective. Ontario : Lexington Books.
Media Relations, Public Safety Canada. (2012, June 6). The Harper government launches Canada’s National Action Plan to combat human trafficking. Retrieved July 19, 2012, from http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/vietnam/highlights-faits/2012/press_release communique_de_presse-2012-06-06.aspx?lang=en&view=d
Schneider, S. (2009). Iced: The story of organized crime in Canada. New York : John Wiley & Sons.
Territo, L., & Kirkham, G. (2009). international sex trafficking of women & children: Understanding the global epidemic. Toronto: Looseleaf Law Publications,.
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