Anti-Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking is a form of sexual exploitation and is a crime in Canada. It is one of the fastest growing and most lucrative crimes worldwide. It can include recruiting, harboring or controlling a person's movements using force, physical or psychological coercion or deception. Most individuals who are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation are women and girls, but all genders may be targeted.

For additional information please see Ministry of Education Policy Program Memorandum 166.

• Traffickers approach and groom children and youth by fulfilling their unmet needs or desires – such as love, affection, a sense of belonging and other basic needs like housing or food security. They may also use threats, physical violence and control. A trafficker can find vulnerabilities to exploit in youth even in stable and healthy homes.
• Traffickers can use different ways, such as becoming friends with youth online and luring/hooking them through promises of love, friendship, money, desired possessions and more.
• Traffickers often present as unthreatening at first. There is also a misconception that all sex traffickers are adults in fact, school-aged children and youth can also be involved in trafficking their peers.
• Youth can be trafficked from rural communities to larger cities or within their own community/city.

Grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust and/or emotional connection with an individual with the intention to manipulate, exploit and/or abuse them. Traffickers will take time to get to know their victim in order to gain an understanding of their vulnerabilities. They will often use the victims vulnerabilities for future manipulation and extortion.

The process of grooming can be done both in person and online. The trafficker is very sophisticated at keeping their true motive hidden from the victim. This process can take days, weeks, months and sometimes years. The goal of the trafficker is to gain trust and have the individual who is being groomed to become more reliant on them.

Sexual abuse & exploitation may be a part of the grooming process, including keeping secrets about intimate moments.

• The trafficker will usually promise a better life for the individual. This could be a relationship, a job, materialistic things etc.,
• The trafficker will purposefully take advantage of the individual’s wants and needs to exploit them
• Children and young people who are groomed can be sexually abused, exploited or trafficked
• A trafficker can be anyone; male or female, young, old or a peer. They can be new friends, classmates, mentors, girlfriends/ boyfriends, musicians and social media celebrities

The Toronto Police Services (TPS) (2023) A Guide to Human Trafficking for Survivors and Parents. Toronto, ONT.

• Being very secretive about how they're spending their time, including when online
• Having a boyfriend or girlfriend who they are reluctant to introduce to families and friends
• Having money or new things like lingerie, clothes and mobile phones that they can't or won't explain
• Unexplained e-transfers, food deliveries
• Sudden drastic change in appearance (begins wearing make-up excessively, dresses in a provocative manner)
• Underage drinking or drug use
• Unexplained mood swings
• Spending more time online or on their devices
• Opening a new bank account
• Changes in personal hygiene
• Being upset, withdrawn or distressed
• Sexualized behavior, language or an understanding of sex that's not appropriate for their age
• Sexualized and provocative social media posts
• Spending more time away from home or going missing for periods of time

The Toronto Police Services (TPS) (2023) A Guide to Human Trafficking for Survivors and Parents. Toronto, ONT.

• Systemic racism and discrimination have led to a higher number of Indigenous and Black children and youth in care than other populations being targeted.
• Indigenous peoples are especially vulnerable to sex trafficking due to historic and ongoing systemic discrimination, including intergenerational trauma resulting from residential schools.
• Language barriers, isolation, economic disadvantage, or a lack of community and social supports may leave newcomer youth with increased vulnerability to trafficking.
• Students with disabilities may experience bullying and isolation in addition to having difficulty understanding the intentions of others.
• 2SLGBTQ+ students face higher rates of bullying, assaults and sexual abuse, and they may face isolation and experience homelessness if they are rejected from their family or the community. Further, human trafficking can be challenging due to fear of discrimination, mistrust of law enforcement, and concerns about revealing their sexual orientation or gender identity.

• In 2019, Ontario had the most police-reported incidents of human trafficking in the country occurring within the province.
• Students are spending more time online on different social media platforms that traffickers may use to recruit students. It becomes increasingly difficult to evaluate the safety of children’s relationships online. For more information refer to the ‘How to protect my child from risk presented online’ section.
• The average age of recruitment into sex trafficking in Canada is 13 years old, often school-aged children and youth are prime targets for traffickers for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

Facts

• Sex trafficking happens in most major cities in Canada. Ontario is a hub.
• Many youth are lured in with false promises of security, love and acceptance.
• Many victims do not have prior addictions, nor are they working in the sex industry prior to exploitation.
• Trafficking affects more females, but boys, men and transgendered/nonbinary youth are also trafficked.
• Although males make up the larger part of traffickers, 30 per cent of offenders have been found to be women.
• In many cases, victims are familiar with their traffickers.

Myths

• Only females are trafficked.
• Only men can be traffickers.
• Traffickers & victims are usually strangers
• Sex trafficking only happens in less developed countries.

• Cyber-safety is about setting clear expectations with your child around online use. Students need to be made aware of the risks of certain apps and how to protect themselves from unwanted contact, as well, as who to turn to when they suspect they may be at risk.
• Families and schools are encouraged to continue to work together to educate students about both the positive and negative potentials of the internet, including the harmful effects of violent sexually explicit images.
• Popular social media platforms (e.g. Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, POF, sugar daddy websites) are new ways traffickers target their victims.
• More information can be found at; cybertip.ca,

Edwards, R. (2023) How to keep your teen (or tween) safe online, SafeWise. (Accessed: 27 November 2023).

• Drop in grades
• Decline in school attendance
• Withdrawal from social activities
• A noticeable change in behavior (e.g., Is tense/hyper vigilant, nervous or anxious)
• Notable change in friend group
• Disconnecting from long-term friendships
• Getting rides from unknown/multiple people or rides from paid Ubers
• Staying out all night or leaving home at odd hours of the night
• Change in attire/expensive clothing
• Change in lingo (e.g. ‘telly time’ or ‘being in the game’)
• Carries one or more cells phones with blocked/private phone numbers
• Makes references to boyfriend (often older) as “daddy” or self as “mama or baby”
• Increased drug/alcohol use

Many victims don’t realize that they are being trafficked. Human trafficking is a complex issue that impacts both physically and psychologically. It is common for those who have been trafficked to have a hard time identifying as being exploited due to the manipulation used by the trafficker.

Some strategies that may be used include the following:

• Doing anything to make the victim fall in love with them (such as manipulation or love bombing)
• Making false promises of a better life for them – creating a sense of family when perhaps the individual did not feel that in their life
• Sexual abuse
• Forcing the victim to engage in illegal / criminal activities
• Threats of violence against them, their peers families
• Intimidation
• distribution of sexually explicit images or videos
• Isolation from friends and family so that they become dependent on the perpetrator
• Taking away their identity documents and passports
• Financial manipulation – convincing the victim that they need to do sex work to support them financially

Sextortion is a form of sexual exploitation that uses coercion to gain sexually explicit photos in order to use them for power, control or manipulation. Online predators may alternatively hack a device or social media account for access to private content. Perpetrators will then threaten to release your private and sensitive photos & information if you do not provide them with favors, money or if you do not comply with demands.

Some tips to prevent sextortion:

• Do not share too many personal details online
• Never exchange intimate photos
• Utilize your social media privacy settings
• Use a nickname on social sites
• Never accept friend requests from people you do not know personally
• Don’t click unknown links or download unknown files
• Cover up your webcam when not in use

Daniels, N. (2022) What is sextortion? How to prevent online blackmailing, VPNOverview.com. (Accessed: 27 November 2023).

• The Canadian Criminal Code Section 279.01 focuses on the prosecution of traffickers, not their victims. It defines the seriousness of trafficking persons with which it is treated by law enforcement.
• The Canadian Criminal Code Section 279.011 acknowledges the vulnerability of youth and underscores that a person’s consent is not a valid defense in cases of human trafficking in persons under the age of 18.
• The Canadian Criminal Code Section 279.02 establishes a legal framework for both supporting victims and holding perpetrators accountable including penalties.
• The Canadian Criminal Code Section 279.03 recognizes the need to address unique circumstances of each case and outlines the factors to be considered when determining a just sentence for human trafficking offenses.

Be a supportive listener by:

• Listening to your child without judgement, shame or blame.
• Trying to understand some of the choices your child makes and the pressures they are experiencing, even if you don't understand them.
• Being aware of and softening your body language.
• Using their language e.g. if they say “boyfriend,” use this term.
• Letting them take the lead in sharing, avoid leading the conversation.
• Contact your child’s principal with your concerns.
• Look for organizations in your community that have outreach programs.

You are required to report to CAS (613-747-7800) if someone under 16 discloses the following;

‘the child has been sexually abused or sexually exploited by the person having charge of the child or by another person where the person having charge of the child knows or should know of the possibility of sexual abuse or sexual exploitation and fails to protect the child.’

Policy/Program memorandum 9: Education in Ontario: Policy and program direction (2019) ontario.ca.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has created a protocol to support students where there are suspicions and/or disclosures that a student has been or is being trafficked. This protocol aims to ensure all students are supported by facilitating early and appropriate interventions and clear pathways to resources (i.e. mental health professionals, community agencies, etc).

• The OCDSB worked alongside community partners to develop required training for all staff to learn about the signs of sex trafficking and available resources
• A protocol was created which provides required steps for staff and administrators if there are suspicions/disclosures that a student has been or is being trafficked.
• We strengthened partnerships with community agencies to ensure clear pathways to services and school based supports as required
• Presentations are being provided to grade 9 students to raise awareness of sex trafficking and the resources available to support
• Ongoing curriculum-based learning about healthy relationships, consent, mental health and well-being, coping skills, personal safety and online safety, particularly in elementary and secondary.
• Presentations to parents/caregivers by community partners on understanding the risks and resources for children and youth as it relates to sex trafficking
• Continued focus on building strong educator-student relationships and schools as places of belonging and safety for all students

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has created a protocol to support students where there are suspicions and/or disclosures that a student has been or is being trafficked. This protocol aims to ensure all students are supported by facilitating early and appropriate interventions and clear pathways to resources (i.e. mental health professionals, community agencies, etc).

The Keeping Students Safe policy – the first of its kind for an education sector in Canada – sets a strong foundation for Ontario school boards to build upon to create local anti-sex trafficking protocols. This new policy will ensure every school board has a plan with core components in place to protect students and empower school communities to play a key role in fighting sex trafficking and keeping children and youth safe from sexual exploitation. Review the Policy Program Memorandum 166 for further detail.