About human trafficking

About human trafficking

Human trafficking is a hidden crime. Most cases of trafficking in Alberta go unreported. Victims may not be able or willing to report to police due to feelings of shame, fear of consequences, language barriers, mistrust of authorities, lack of human rights knowledge or they may not fully understand that they are being trafficked. Anyone can be a victim of human trafficking regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or economic status.

Human trafficking can occur both domestically (within Alberta or Canada) or transnationally (crossing international borders).

Definition of human trafficking

• According to Alberta’s Protecting Survivors of Human Trafficking Act:
  • “human trafficking” means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, holding, concealing, harbouring or receipt of a person by means of (i) the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception, (ii) repeated provision of a controlled substance, (iii) the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or (iv) the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person

Human trafficking statistics

• The International Labour Organization, estimates human trafficking is responsible for $236 billion in illicit profits annually.
• 93% of human trafficking victims in Canada are Canadian citizens.
• Human trafficking is a gendered crime with 97% of reported victims being women and girls.
• Although Indigenous people make up only 4% of Canada’s overall population, it is estimated that approximately 50% of human trafficking victims identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
• Children can be trafficked as young as 13 years old, and sources indicate this can be even younger for Indigenous victims.
• Between 2011 to 2022, Statistic Canada indicates that only one in 10 completed human trafficking cases resulted in a finding of guilt.
• In Alberta, 135 people have been arrested on trafficking offences since 2020 and 68 victims have been supported by ALERT and community partners.

While statistics help us understand the severity of human trafficking, we may never truly see the full impact due to the hidden nature of this crime.

Types of human trafficking

Sex trafficking: Traffickers coerce victims into commercial sex acts by force, threats, manipulation or intimidation in order to make a profit from that person. This is the most common form of human trafficking in Alberta. Victims of sex trafficking are often manipulated into a perceived romantic relationship and may not understand they are a victim of sex trafficking.

Labour trafficking: A form of modern slavery where victims are exploited for their labour. Traffickers may often withhold passports or work permits, control the persons’ movement, withhold wages and/or force the person to work long hours in unsafe conditions. Victims of labour trafficking are generally isolated and concealed from the public.

• Anyone can be a victim of labour trafficking.
• Migrant workers and newcomers can be especially vulnerable due to language barriers and not knowing their rights as workers in Alberta.

Trafficking or harvesting of organs: The transport or illegal transplant of organs for financial gain. Victims are coerced or deceived into giving up their organ. This type of trafficking is uncommon within Canada; however, Canadians may travel elsewhere to receive trafficked organs.

Human trafficking vs. human smuggling

Human smuggling and human trafficking are often confused as being one and the same but there are key differences between the 2:

• Human smuggling is typically done with the person’s consent in order to cross international borders. Human trafficking victims are typically moved from place to place without their consent.
• Once they have arrived at the destination, the people being smuggled are typically free to go or do as they please. Trafficking victims are tightly controlled by their trafficker and often unable to go anywhere without the trafficker’s permission.
• Smugglers make their profits through fees paid to them by the people being smuggled. Traffickers make profit through exploiting their victims.

Many human trafficking victims enter Canada legally with a valid passport, work permit or visa, whereas someone who was smuggled into Canada is here illegally. Human smuggling and human trafficking are not mutually exclusive. A person smuggled into Canada can become a victim of human trafficking once they arrive.

How traffickers control their victims

Most trafficking victims have a pre-existing relationship with their trafficker – they were either a friend, colleague, or more commonly, a romantic partner. Traffickers will often gain the victim’s trust through:

• expensive gifts like clothing, jewelry, makeup, etc.
• declarations of love
• providing emotional or financial support
• making the person feel accepted and protected
• isolating the victim from friends and family in an attempt to control them

Once a trafficker gains the victim’s trust, they will attempt to control them by:

• force or threats of violence – this could be to the victim directly or towards their family, friends and pets if the victim will not comply
• use of lies and tricks to control their victim or, in the case of romantic partners, accuse the victim of not loving them or forcing them to prove their love by doing what the trafficker wants
• drugs – either providing drugs to lower inhibitions or withholding them until the person complies
• blackmail – this could include sharing explicit photos with friends and family or threatening to tell them about the victim’s drug use or acts committed while the person is being exploited
• controlling the person’s personal documents (work permits/passports) or cell phone usage
• controlling the person’s finances or withholding bank cards so that the victim becomes dependent on the trafficker for the necessities of life
• controlling what the victims wears