Human trafficking is “a worldwide problem,” says the Magdalene House Society’s executive director.
“Some people see it as something that only happens in Thailand, or somewhere in a developing country, and don’t recognize that it happens here,” Tammy Rogers said.
“Ninety-eight per cent of the women trafficked in Canada are born and raised in Canada. It’s not an ‘over there’ thing. It’s happening right here.
“It’s happening in our community. It could be happening right in your own neighbourhood and you wouldn’t necessarily know it.”
The society hosted its seventh Freedom Walk at Kiwanis Park in Red Deer on Saturday to raise awareness for human trafficking prevention and to show support to victims.
“Human trafficking is something that happens pretty regularly. It’s the second largest crime, behind drug trafficking,” said Rogers.
Rogers said it can be difficult to detect how many people are involved in human trafficking, because most victims never come forward.
“It’s still very much a silent crime. In order to prosecute, you have to confront the perpetrator, and for many women, once they’re out of it, they never want to go back.”
The average age for human trafficking recruitment is 13 or 14 years, she added.
“If someone has been trafficked for 10, 15 or 20 years, the psychological trauma is pretty deep. They could go back to that situation up to eight times before they can finally escape.”
Human trafficking prevention programming is “almost non-existent,” said Rogers.
“We don’t teach our young people the tricks and traps that are used by traffickers. Part of the awareness of this walk is that we’ve developed that programming and we want to start offering it.
“But finding funding for that is difficult, especially in this (economic) climate, with everything being cut back.”
The society has developed a program called Safe on the Streets, which is targeted for girls between 10 and 15 years.
“It’s about showing how recruitment happens and how to prevent it, not just for yourself, but if you notice those signs in a friend.”
Rogers said certain demographics, such as members of the LGBTQ+ community and Indigenous children, are more at risk than others.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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