“NO MORE” Ending Sex-Trafficking In Canada Report of the National Task Force on Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada commissioned by the Canadian Women’s Foundation Fall 2014 2 Report of the National Task Force on Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada “ True equality for women and girls will not be achieved until all forms of violence, including sexual exploitation and sex trafficking, are eradicated. This will require a broad perspective and action taken in all sectors and in a wide range of policy areas. The results will reflect a stronger nation whose political, social and economic inequalities are minimized and where human rights and the possibility for everyone to succeed to their greatest potential is achieved.” The Task Force on Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada Report of the National Task Force 3 on Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada This report summarizes the findings and recommendations of the Task Force on Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada. The Task Force was created and funded by the Canadian Women’s Foundation to investigate the nature and extent of sex trafficking in Canada, and to recommend a national anti-trafficking strategy to inform the work of the Canadian Women’s Foundation. The findings and recommendations contained in this report were developed to assist the Canadian Women’s Foundation in creating its own five-year national anti-trafficking strategy. It is also hoped the recommendations will inform and offer guidance to other stakeholders working in this area. The Canadian Women’s Foundation strategy to end sex trafficking is available at www.canadianwomen.org/trafficking The Canadian Women’s Foundation’s work on sex trafficking in Canada was made possible by a generous donation from the Estate of Ann Southam, a celebrated music composer and member of the Order of Canada, to support its work with women and girls in Canada. October, 2014 4 Report of the National Task Force on Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada Introduction “Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach …it does not take everyone on Earth to bring justice and peace, only a small determined group who will not give up…” -Clarissa Estes When we accepted the honour of co-chairing this Task Force, we knew there was an issue, but we had no idea of the scale, the scope and the human tragedy being played out in our own communities. Girls, often as young as 13, are being lured, recruited and procured into sexual slavery by predators who profit from their endeavours, rob them of their dignity, and often wound them with lifelong scars, changing forever the trajectories of otherwise happy lives. Poverty, violence and widespread gender inequity are the preconditions for trafficking, but not the only factors. Any one of the previously trafficked girls and women we have come to know could be our own daughter, our sister, our niece, our aunt. The diversity of those who are trafficked is sobering: any girl, anywhere, at any time. Creating equity out of the rubble of injustice Listening to their stories we realized this is not just about their individual tragedy, but also about our collective view of humankind. It will take a country to remedy this blight on our society. Poverty and violence are the precursors of trafficking. We came to realize that one person’s poverty of property is actually our poverty of generosity. Another’s poverty of well-being is really our poverty of spirit. It cannot be right, or fair, or tolerable that thousands of Canadian women and girls go missing, are unaccounted for and are so much more likely to live in poverty and be subject to the luring of predators. It’s not a matter of left versus right, it’s a matter of right versus wrong. We are deeply grateful to the Canadian Women’s Foundation for commissioning this important work. Creating equity out of the rubble of injustice is a massive job, an overpowering, sometimes thankless job, but when you give this organization a “why” it always finds the “how”. By funding the Task Force on Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada they have put capacity behind vision and stepped into leadership. They have provided the “how.” As a result of this work we have all come to understand that the issue is complex and multi-dimensional. There are roles for lawmakers, service providers, philanthropists, community organizations, the faith community, and Survivors, as well as the dreamers and the seekers after justice and equity who will keep the passion for eliminating sex trafficking alive and loud among us. We all share in solving this issue, and there is a role for every one of us. Report of the National Task Force 5 on Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada Our learning’s over the past 18 months have formed the foundation for this report and the Task Force’s recommendations. We are grateful for the wisdom, shared through personal accounts, in-depth research and through extensive and relevant knowledge transfer from local, provincial, national and international stakeholders involved in all sectors. Your testimony illustrated just how insidious and widespread this abhorrent crime is. We will be forever grateful to the courageous Survivors of sex trafficking who touched our lives and thus have influenced our dedication and future work in this area. Your very personal recollections of experiences forever changed us. We will not forget you, your hopes or your dreams. We are humbled by the opportunity to have worked with 22 wise and courageous colleagues who brought insight, passion and intelligent analysis to this work. They are the embodiment of amazing grace, and we are forever grateful to them. These recommendations are theirs, and come from their lived experience and their service to trafficked women in our country. Emotion is no substitute for action We now know what needs to be done, and we all have a part to play. It is most important when reading this report, that we remember passion doesn’t automatically translate into commitment. Emotion is no substitute for action. We will need courage and vision to fight this problem. Together they are the double helix of success. Let us all be fearless, let us all dig deep for inspiration. Join with us, invest with the Canadian Women’s Foundation to stop sex trafficking and say NO MORE. Margot Franssen, OC Sheila O’Brien, CM Task Force Co-Chair Task Force Co-Chair 6 Report of the National Task Force on Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada The members of the Task Force on Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada Margot Franssen, Co-Chair Kim Pate, CM Canadian Women’s Foundation Board Executive Director Toronto, ON Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies Ottawa, ON Sheila O’Brien, Co-Chair Canadian Women’s Foundation Board Lanna Many Grey Horses Calgary, AB Manager, Women’s and Children’s Services The Bloom Group Elder Mae Louise Campbell Vancouver, BC Grandmother Moon Lodge Laurie MacKenzie Winnipeg, MB Resource Helper Services for Sexually Exploited Youth Christina Harrison Baird Winnipeg, MB Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) PACT-Ottawa Manjit K. Chand Ottawa, ON Program Manager Basics for Health Erin Corston Vancouver, BC Executive Director Ontario Native Women’s Association Dr. Marie Delorme Formerly with Native Women’s Association of CEO Canada The Imagination Group of Companies Thunder Bay, ON Calgary, AB Isabelle Bigué Mary Mowbray Human Trafficking Counsellor Senior Vice President, Retail Group CAVAC de Montréal (Crime Victims’ Assistance Colliers International Center of Montreal) Toronto, ON Montreal, QC Micheline Lavoie Jim Zucchero Director Constable, Vice Unit Serious and Organized Crime Division - Peel Region Police Public Safety Canada Brampton, ON Federal National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons Kathleen (Kate) Quinn Ottawa, ON Executive Director Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation (CEASE) Nicole Barrett Edmonton, AB Director of the Joint International Justice and Human Rights Clinic Osgoode Hall and University Kelly Cameron of British Columbia Law Schools and Coordinator of Student Mobilization Director of Global Justice Associates International Justice Mission Canada Vancouver, BC London, ON Report of the National Task Force 7 on Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada Pytor Hodgson Taunya Goguen Principle, Three Things Inc. Manager, International Kingston, ON Federal Policing Strategic Policy RCMP National Headquarters Rosalind Currie Formally with Federal National Action Plan to Director Combat Trafficking in Persons Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Ottawa, ON Ministry of Justice Vancouver, BC Timea E Nagy Founder/ Program Director Sherry Jackson-Smith Walk With Me Canada Victim Services African Nova-Scotian Community Member Hamilton, ON Halifax, NS Wendy Scheirich Shirley Cuillierrier Acting Manager Sexual Exploitation Unit (retired) Superintendent Manitoba Department of Family Services and Labour Director General Lac du Bonnet, MB Partnerships and External Relations RCMP Federal Policing Ottawa, ON The Task Force was assisted by: Deborah Sinclair MSW, RSW, Therapist, Speaker Consultant Toronto, ON, [email protected] The Task Force would like to thank the Canadian Women’s Foundation Board of Director’s and staff for their support. In particular we would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of Diane Redsky, Project Director and Barbara Gosse, Senior Director, Research, Policy and Innovation. See Appendix A to learn more about Task Force members 8 Report of the National Task Force on Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada Table of contents INTRODUCTION .......................................................4 1. TOWARDS AN END TO SEX TRAFFICKING ............................. 11 What sex trafficking does and does not mean ...........................12 The work of the Task Force ..........................................14 A word about terminology ...........................................15 2.