400 series of highways are key pipelines for human trafficking
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Ontarians have a significant role to play in ending the “huge” problem of human trafficking in the province, Children and Women’s Issues Associate Minister Jill Dunlop says.
Nearly two-thirds of police-reported human trafficking violations occur in Ontario, Dunlop said Tuesday, which was World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
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“Raising awareness would be our No. 1 tool that we have,” she said. “The purpose of today was educating people that this is an issue and the signs to look for.”
One of the key pipelines for human trafficking is the 400 series of highways.
ONroute Service Centres have launched a video campaign, organized by Courage for Freedom, to help people spot signs that someone is being trafficked.
Ashley Boyes, of Global Shapers Toronto, said victims might be spotted in ONroute washrooms.
“If you see a young girl, a young boy, someone is by themselves who isn’t necessarily with a family member, and you see any sort of suspicious activity — that’s the sort of thing that we’re trying to have people report on,” Boyes said Tuesday.
“If you see someone who’s in a bathroom alone and they’re being approached by someone, or you see someone who’s out in the middle of the parking lot, that type of thing.”
While the government has poured more resources into stopping human trafficking, more needs to be done to provide supports and housing for victims, Boyes said.
The Ontario government has launched a series of round table discussions around the province to hear from stakeholders and survivors on how to create a more supportive system for these victims, Dunlop said.
The minister said she is heading to Thunder Bay Wednesday evening for a First Nation and Metis roundtable and then to Sudbury for a French- and English-language roundtable.
“We’ll be tracking that data,” she said.
Experts say both boys and girls are being victimized with many recruited as young as 12 or 13 years old.
Some signs to look for are if the person is under 18 and involved in prostitution or sex work, unpaid or treated poorly, shows physical evidence of abuse, or has a brand like someone’s name tattooed on him or her.
“As a mother of three teenage daughters, this is very important to me,” Dunlop said. “It goes undetected in small communities, large cities, so education is the number one thing that we have to combat it.”
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