Human sex trafficking
Forcing someone into commercial sex acts is a crime.
It's a serious threat to everyone's basic right to live free of violence. Many victims face long-lasting effects of trauma and the number of young women lured into this life continues to increase. Most victims are female.
Male victims are under-reported. Unless they get help, many boys shift from being victims to victimizing other boys and girls.
Ontario accounts for more than half of the cases in Canada. The GTA is near all major highways and the airport, making it a sex trafficking hub. This allows for easier movement of victims across the country.
The crime of human sex trafficking has surpassed gun and drug trafficking for the first time in history. This speaks to the urgent need to address this heinous crime.
The numbers
- 70% of human trafficking victims identified by police are under the age of 25.
- 62% of Canadian human trafficking cases originate in the GTA.
- 12 to 24 years old is the average age of victims.
- 63% of victims trafficked in Ontario are Canadian citizens.
What we're doing
In June 2018, Peel Regional Council endorsed a 3 year pilot for A Strategy to Address Human Sex Trafficking in Peel Region. In June 2022, Region Council endorsed the permanent program with an intended outcome to increase awareness and coordinated access to dedicated and dignified services to victims, survivors, and those at-risk of sex trafficking in Peel.
Help is available
If you're a victim or survivor of human sex trafficking or forced labour, or you know someone who is, contact the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-900-1010.
The strategy aligns with the Province of Ontario's anti-human trafficking strategy 2020-2025.
Peel's strategy will address human sex trafficking through:
- Prevention
- Intervention
- Exits
This approach:
- Supports victims and survivors and those at-risk of human sex trafficking.
- Bridges the gap in services.
- Provides safe housing and dedicated services.
Other information
Increase awareness through prevention and education programs delivered mainly by the Peel Human Trafficking Service Providers Committee.
Both school boards in Peel are interested in working with the Region on the implementation of the strategy.
The video, What is Sex Trafficking, was produced by Rhonelle Bruder, a survivor and advocate. The target audience of this video is parents, caregivers and school-aged children.
Our general elearning module provides an overview about human sex trafficking. Private businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities can use this module.
A Peel-specific elearning module has is also available on our internal channels for Peel Region staff.
Virtual training sessions are being delivered to frontline and management Peel Region employees. The focus is on how staff can support someone who may be at-risk of or has shared personal experience with human sex trafficking.
If you would like more information about the Peel Human Sex Trafficking Strategy, email us at antihumantrafficking@peelregion.ca
An integrated services hub called nCourage opened in Winter 2021 to increase access to easy, reliable, wrap-around services for victims and survivors. Contact them by email. Visit ncourage.ca for more information.
Services include:
- Case management
- Trauma counselling
- Outreach
- System navigation
- Life skills
- Continuing education
- Family reunification
All services are free-of-charge and are offered onsite at a confidential location.
We've increased access to safe and supportive housing for victims and survivors. This includes 2 separate houses for human sex trafficking victims and survivors:
- 1 safe emergency house (for up to 6 months).
- 1 transitional house (from 6 months to 2 years).
The safe house opened on April 15, 2020 and the transitional house opened April 6, 2021.
Contact Elizabeth Fry Hope and Help for Women at 905-459-1315 or by email. Visit efryhopehelp.com for more information.
The committee includes the meaningful involvement of victims and survivors. It's made up of organizations from Peel and the Greater Toronto Area. The committee includes the indigenous, education, employment, legal, health and social services sectors.
The goal of the committee is to reduce victimization and enforce human trafficking laws. It will offer services to empower and support victims and survivors in rebuilding their lives.
From Concept to Action: A Strategy to Address Human Sex trafficking in Peel (May 2021)
This detailed guide shares the process of developing and launching Peel’s strategy to address human sex trafficking. It includes our learnings, resources, best practices and key messages that can be adapted to other local contexts. Our hope is that the guide will assist other communities, organizations, law enforcement, municipal governments, schools and collaboratives looking to develop their own anti-sex trafficking strategies and prompt thinking about ways to allocate resources, utilize champions, define activities, prioritize efforts and leverage existing partnerships.
To receive a copy of the resource guide, contact antihumantrafficking@peelregion.ca.
