Human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation, or harbouring of persons for the purpose of exploitation, generally for sexual exploitation or forced labour, using force, fraud, or coercion.
Traffickers will exploit human vulnerabilities created by poverty, sexism, racism, wage inequality, and lack of education, social supports, and employment opportunities.
Human Trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes worldwide, and contrary to popular belief, it is a CANADIAN issue. Over 90% of sex trafficking victims are Canadian citizens.
The average age of recruitment into sex trafficking is 13 years old.
Over 70% of human trafficking victims identified by police are under the age of 25.
Approximately two-thirds of police-reported human trafficking cases in Canada occur in Ontario.
Many of these victims are exploited by people they trust, such as boyfriends, and they are often manipulated into thinking they are not being trafficked.
Parents need to educate themselves and their children, and be diligent at communicating with their kids.
HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO GANGS ?
While gangs have historically focused on drug trafficking and illegal weapons trade, gang involvement with human trafficking—as one of the world’s fastest growing criminal enterprises—continues to increase.
As a multi-billion dollar industry, human trafficking is more lucrative than guns or drugs: traffickers can make over $280,000 per year by controlling one victim, and one victim can be sold over and over.
Simply put, the ease of access and monetary gain has made human trafficking a very attractive alternative to gangs and organized crime.