Human Trafficking. National Coordination Centre

Transcription

1 Human Trafficking Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre

2 PRIORITIES 1.Develop tools, protocols, guidelines 5.Coordinate intelligence HTNCC (613) Coordinate National awareness & anti-trafficking initiatives 4. Develop and maintain international partnerships 3. Identify and maintain lines of communication

3 Awareness Campaign

4 National Threat Assessment Project Seclusion Assess the situation in Canada Identify criminal organizations that are involved in human trafficking Identify high risk areas Identify links, trends and intelligence gaps Justification to conduct intelligence probes Assist law enforcement in prioritizing operations

5 Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation Foreign Nationals HT of Eastern European women HT of Asian women Canada is primarily a destination country Domestic Human Trafficking Canadian citizens and/or permanent residents

6 Human Trafficking of Eastern European Women Potential Victims: Female migrants from Romania, Ukraine and Moldova; between ages of 21 and 38 years

7 HT of Eastern European Women Cont d Exploitation & Control: Threats, coercion, passports withheld, repayment of travel costs Fear for themselves or loved ones Mislead about work terms and living arrangements Non-compliance would result in harm to herself or relatives back home

8 HT of Asian Women Potential Victims: Women of Asian ethnicity, recruited within Canada or abroad Foreign nationals (Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Malaysia), Canadian citizens, or permanent residents Women between ages of 20 and 46 years

9 HT of Asian Women Cont d Exploitation & Control: Owner-operators insulate themselves from the prostitution aspects of their business Operate more than one location simultaneously and rotate the workers between the locations Asian cultural values and honour Harming family overseas or disclosing the females were prostituting Passports withheld

10 Domestic HT Sexual Exploitation Victims: Majority female Canadian citizens Between the ages of 14 and 25 years Recruited in BC, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

11 Domestic HT Sexual Exploitation Cont d Exploitation & Control: Threats, intimidation and violence Believed they were in an exclusive romantic relationship Isolation moved or forcibly confined Withheld identification

12 Gang Involvement in Domestic HT As of Nov.15 th, 2009, 13 of the individuals charged or convicted of HT were linked or are suspected of being linked by association or membership to known street gangs in Canada.

13 HT of Foreign Nationals for Forced Labour Trends: Illegal domestic workers Temporary Foreign Worker s Program (TFWP) and Third Party Agencies

14 TFWP and Third Party Agencies Third party agencies are manipulating the application process of the TFWP. Third parties have used some form of exploitation such as: threatening workers with deportation being involved in recruiting in source countries and charging a recruitment/transportation fee to the workers Deceiving and misinforming the workers by promising them specific work and salary, although the terms are often not met.

15 HT of Foreign Nationals for Forced Labour Not all persons who work under exploitative conditions are victims of HT. Key findings: Food processing, technology, service industry including food retail chains and restaurants Involvement of known organized crime groups had not been identified Elements of deception, financial exploitation, harassment, and threats of deportation

16 Human Trafficking Convictions Convictions in 18 HT cases: 8 HT specific convictions (all domestic) 5 in Ontario 3 in Quebec 10 convictions (other HT related offences) Numerous cases with HT charges currently before the courts

17 Challenges of Investigating Human Trafficking Victim cooperation Stockholm syndrome Fear of reprisal

18 International Reality

19 Trafficking of Young Girls in Asian Countries

20 Victim State of mind Do not self identify as victims of HT or accept their exploitative situation React with fear, suspicion, scepticism, distrust, hesitation or hostility Affiliation with traffickers, develop surviving skills Feel responsible or feel better about current situation than alternatives SHAME

21 Challenges of Investigating HT Cont d Lack of awareness: Misinterpretation of human smuggling versus human trafficking Labour exploitation Application of Criminal Code versus Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or vice versa Consent

22 Challenges of Investigating HT Cont d Law enforcement approach: Reactive investigations Resource constraints and priorities Cooperation and information sharing

23 New and Future Initiatives Awareness among HRSDC employees and labour inspectors NGO and law enforcement training (Workshops & mass distribution of tool kits) Raise awareness amongst Aboriginal and youth groups

24 THANK YOU QUESTIONS? Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre (HTNCC) Sgt. Marie-Claude Arsenault (613) Cpl. Nilu Singh (613) Cpl. Sebastian Amenta (613) Cpl. Charlene Rivet (613) Cpl. Brenda Whitteron (613) (613) or Human trafficking national threat assessment: