How to Prevent Human Trafficking
Human trafficking usually refers to the action of transporting people illicitly to do illegal activities, which include forced labour, sexual activities, and other possible drug trade activities. Poverty, sexism, racism, wage inequality, lack of education, social support, and employment opportunities are all factors that contribute to human trafficking. Canada divides its effort to combat human trafficking into four sections: the prevention of trafficking; the protection of victims; the prosecution of offenders; and working in partnership with others. Despite the Canadian government’s efforts to combat human trafficking, we should still make efforts to avoid human trafficking. For instance, we can always keep in mind the possible dangers of strangers.
Canadian government’s four strategies to combat human trafficking:
1. The prevention of trafficking
The government of Canada aims to increase public awareness regarding human trafficking, and expand the research network related to this issue within future five years. Key activities will include
- Launching a national public awareness campaign to inform Canadians about human trafficking, and types of human trafficking.
- Implementing pilot projects for at-risk youth to inform Canadians about possible human trafficking dangers that the vulnerable youth in care face.
- Enhancing data collection and research to improve understanding related to the human trafficking situation, and to assist in promoting programs that help human trafficking victims and survivors.
- Supporting anti-human trafficking efforts abroad to tackle the international trafficking issues, by outreaching out to other international communities to avoid transactional human trafficking.
2. The protection of victims
The Canadian government aims to tackle the current difference in existing support and provide culturally informed service. Key activities will include:
- Establishing a national case-management standard to provide the assistance needed for specific groups, like immigrants, youth in care, and women.
- Developing multi-sectoral training tools to provide effective signs for helping people understand human trafficking issues and the ways to avoid human trafficking.
- Enhancing capacity under the Victims of Trafficking in-person program to improve the detection system of human trafficking in the immigration system.
- Assessing existing immigration processes to guarantee sufficient protection is provided by border officials for the victims.
3. The prosecution of offenders
The Canadian government aims to improve the criminal justice system to detect human trafficking crimes effectively. Key activities will include:
- Hosting an international conference to improve the criminal justice system by bringing national and international experts together. Those departments include law enforcement, provincial and territorial government officials, academia, front-line workers,Indigenous partners, non-governmental organizations, and survivors of human trafficking.
- Dedicating an expert group of border officials to improve strategies to combat human trafficking.
- Enhancing Project PROTECT to tackle the human trafficking money laundering-related problem.
4. Working in partnership with others.
The Canadian government aims to enhance both national and international partnerships to combat human trafficking. Key activities will include:
- Appointing a high-profile advisor on human trafficking to inform effective strategies to combat human trafficking for the Canadian government, and see the possible improvements in those strategies.
- Strengthening the international engagement approach to tackle human trafficking crimes by improving multilateral and bilateral partnerships. The Canadian government will approach international protocols, advocate for human rights and gender mainstreaming, and participation in key international for a driving innovation to combat human trafficking.
- Hosting annual stakeholder gatherings and outreach meetings to guarantee the exchange of information, outreach and effective strategies to combat human trafficking continues.
The actions that we can take to combat human trafficking:
1. Remember your nation’s human trafficking hotline. For Canada, it is 1-833-900-1010
2. Learn the signs of human trafficking. Suspicious words, physical abuse and suspicious actions are all potential signs of human trafficking.
3. Be informed, consumers. Figure out your food or clothes’ original production place to see if they are produced by vulnerable victims of human trafficking.
4. Volunteer to help combat human trafficking in your community
5. Always be informed and prepared to receive news and alerts related to human trafficking activities, with the purpose of avoiding possible dangers.
In brief, complex compound factors contribute to human trafficking, including poverty, sexism, racism, wage inequality, and a lack of education, social support, and employment opportunities. Despite the Canadian government making a tremendous and significant effort to combat human trafficking, we should also make attempts and efforts to combat human trafficking. Those attempts include: raising our safety awareness, learning the signs of human trafficking, being informed consumers, volunteering, remembering the human trafficking hotline and being aware of recent human trafficking news to avoid possible dangers. Hopefully, we can reduce human trafficking crime together by making significant efforts.
Sources:
Canada, P. S. (2022, July 21). National strategy to combat human trafficking 2019-2024. Public Safety Canada. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2019-ntnl-strtgy-hmnn-trffc/index-en.aspx