HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Many do not know, or chose to ignore the fact that a decision made by the Ontario Supreme Court in 2010, essentially decriminalize prostitution and has contributed to making the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) a hot spot for "sex-tourism".  Due to this decision by the Ontario Supreme Court, the sad reality is that the GTA has now also become an end destination for human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

Here are some the sad realities that existed before the ruling:

Human trafficking is a hidden, clandestine operation, reliable statistics are difficult to obtain.  The R.C.M.P. Criminal Intelligence Directorate estimated in 2004 that 800 people are trafficked into Canada each year, 600 of which are destined for the sex trade. They also estimated that 1,500 – 2,200 people are trafficked from Canada into the U.S.A. annually.

Canada’s Aboriginal female population is prostituted and trafficked in disproportionate levels. Aboriginal youth are only 3 – 5% of the Canadian population, and yet in some cities they are 90% of the visible sex trade.[1]

Young women who have been sexually exploited/abused in the past are more vulnerable to trafficking.

Now that prostitution has been essentially decriminalize, the GTA has become a top destination for sex-tourism that creates a demand that pimps and crime syndicates are more than happy to fill.  Some of the harsh realities is that for those who are not saved from the sex-trade from poor countries around the world may end up in Toronto.

[1] According to research conducted by Michael Chettleburgh, gang expert, quoted in Cherry, Tamara. “Flesh trade targets natives,” Toronto Sun, Monday, September 29, 2008