HARVEY: It’s time to stop punishing human trafficking survivors

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I met my first trafficker online when I was just 14 years old. I didn’t understand what human trafficking was and the extreme emotional manipulation and abuse I endured made it seemingly impossible to leave my situation. When I finally broke free, I had two young daughters and a strong will to give them a stable life. But I soon discovered I was far from free. My traffickers had racked up $65,000 in coercive and fraudulent debt in my name.    

My story is not unique. In fact, it provides a lens into how predictable and preventable this type of financial exploitation can be when systems are set up to ignore the signs. It’s relatively easy for traffickers to steal from victims and leave them to foot the bill. Yet it’s incredibly difficult for victims to prove coercion because systems don’t recognize it. They categorize it as consumer fraud. It’s not.    

My financial exploitation started at 14 when my trafficker began using my credit card on purchases without my consent. Subsequently, he made me take out payday loans, which he pocketed, along with my CERB cheques, child tax benefits and student assistance payments. At 20, my trafficker forced me to withdraw $3,000 from my bank. While the teller knew something was off, there was no protocol for her to intervene. Only when I was on my own and denied a car loan did I fully understand the extent of the debt, which wasn’t truly mine, but was nonetheless real.    

This is not rare for survivors of human trafficking. Sadly, coerced debt forces many back into sex trafficking. A ruined credit score makes moving on almost impossible and many survivors don’t know how or where to find help.    

Thankfully, while I was trying to figure out how to pay the debts, I was introduced to RECLAIM, a national program run by Victim Services Toronto. It helps survivors of human trafficking by addressing coerced and fraudulent debt in collaboration with financial institutions and creditors. I provided my details (once) to my advocate, who negotiated with my multiple creditors. To date, $55,000 has been cleared from my name.    

I’m so grateful, but it shouldn’t be this hard. Policies need to change. Survivors often go unseen, not because no one is looking, but because the systems aren’t built to recognize coercion or the realities of trafficking. Currently, the burden is on survivors to prove our abuse. This is unrealistic, as human trafficking is notoriously hard to prove — that’s why traffickers are rarely brought to justice. And we are asked to relive our trauma again and again just to be taken seriously. This revictimizes survivors and stops many from seeking help.    

But there is good news. Some organizations are starting to take steps to support survivors facing financial harm and we can build on this foundation.    

Survivor input will help systems succeed. I recently consulted with Victim Services Toronto on a ground-breaking report entitled Understanding the Financial Implications of Human Trafficking on Survivors. The research shows just how predictable coerced debt is and how current systems fail to address it. The report offers a blueprint for change that doesn’t require an entire overhaul of current systems but instead proposes adaptations to account for coercion.    

As we mark World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, I’m calling on creditors to stop treating coerced debt like consumer fraud. Ending the revictimization of survivors starts when organizations — and the people in them — truly understand this problem. And solutions demand cross-sector collaboration, meaningful engagement with survivors and policies that reflect the realities of coercion. It’s time to stop expecting survivors to pay the literal price for crimes committed against us.    

Cassandra Harvey is a survivor of human trafficking and proud mom of two young girls. Driven by a strong desire to aid the vulnerable, she is an undergraduate pre-law student at York University and aspires to become a criminal lawyer, supporting individuals who have also suffered injustices