Marguerite Riel Centre hosts human trafficking information event

“It’s definitely different, each case-by-case, but we just want people to be prepared to know that it’s there. We see it all the time,” Jestin said.

While trafficking may seem like a big city issue, Jestin said that’s not always the case.

“Several of the clients that I work with were from small, rural communities – came to the city and are victims of trafficking. So we just want people to have that toolkit and understanding of things they can look out for.”

Lysyshyn said they also wanted to dispel some myths regarding human trafficking. She said people aren’t being snatched from parking lots and put into vans – trafficking is manipulative and coercive.

“It’s not people getting thrown into trunks and taken across borders,” Lysyshyn said. “It happens right in your own city; you don’t have to be moved anywhere to be trafficked.”

She said trafficking tends to be a long game that people [who often know the victim] play.

Several of the trafficking stories the two discussed in their presentation involved girls and women being ‘love-bombed’ – initially being showered with love, affection, and gifts. Eventually, that gives into coercion and extortion.

Jestin said the vulnerable population is especially susceptible to becoming a victim of human trafficking. The most common trafficking seen stems from a ‘romance’, in which the victim falls in love with someone who eventually uses drugs and other coercion to get the victim to begin sex work. A case discussed during their presentation involved meeting a trafficker on the social media app Snapchat, and sometimes women are so in love with the trafficker, despite the circumstances, that it takes them a long time to realize they are being trafficked. In many cases, the trafficker keeps the money earned through the victim’s sex work, leaving them further reliant on the trafficker.

Trafficking is an incredibly complex situation, according to Lysyshyn. She said it is challenging to work with the clients that have been victims of trafficking, as they look to build back their life. Many have spent years not being able to make decisions for themselves. They often have few, if any, possessions, are often without money, and many don’t even have proper identification. Lycyshyn said the clients have complex, compounded trauma that needs many different supports.

Jestin and Lysyshyn spoke about five different cases of human trafficking in their presentation, all with differing circumstances. Some involved younger women, while one featured a woman in her 50s that was trafficked.

Jestin paraphrased what a trafficking survivor said during her presentation at Friday’s event.

“She said ‘I just wanted to be loved – I didn’t have that; I didn’t come from an environment where I had that love and that connection’”.

While the vulnerable population is often targeted, Jestin said it’s important to remember that anyone can become a victim.

Among the misconceptions is that sex trafficking happens only in hotels or abandoned buildings. Jestin said women were being trafficked out of an Air BnB in a basement suite in a residential area of Saskatoon.

“It could be a neighbour, it could be the condo beside you, and it’s just important to be aware.”

Their presentation focused on sex trafficking, but they acknowledged there is also human trafficking that involves forced labour that is happening, though it is less common.

Jestin and Lysyshyn said during their presentation that earning the trust of a trafficking victim is often an arduous task, with many wary of authority figures of any kind. Their response to a victim disclosing the situation is to stay calm, be non-judgmental, and allow them to tell their story. It’s also vital not to ask questions, especially leading ones, and not to make promises that can’t be kept. Confidentiality is also key, though in cases involving minors, reporting the incident overrides that confidentiality by law.

While the Human Trafficking Response program was established in Saskatoon, Lysyshyn said the goal is to hopefully set up something similar in smaller centres.

If you suspect a case of trafficking, Jestin and Lysyshyn urge you to contact your local police service.

–

cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

by Cam Lee

Marguerite Riel Centre hosts human trafficking information event

What's Trending