$10M plan to ID and help victims of sex trafficking
Covenant House launches multi-pronged initiative
A multimedia campaign aimed at teaching young girls how to spot early signs of luring and sex trafficking.
Education for hoteliers, condominium concierges, even taxi drivers about how they can intervene, if — and often when — they come into contact with this crime in action.
And, 24-7 help for victims of this large, and growing urban problem.
These are just some of the new programs Covenant House has begun rolling out as part of its co-ordinated attack on human sex trafficking.
At a press conference in the agency’s College St. headquarters Wednesday, executive director Bruce Rivers announced a $10-million fundraising campaign called Just Like a Girl You Know, to support and further develop the new initiatives. “Sex trafficking is a growing public issue,” he said. “Homeless youth are particularly vulnerable. But this could happen to any girl.”
A Toronto Star investigation into The Game — sex trafficking by socalled “Romeo Pimps” — revealed numerous cases of girls and young women who were trafficked out of fine hotels and dodgy motels. An accused pimp told the Star how easy it is for a trafficker to lure a young person with the promise of love and a future. The Star stories also revealed the lack of social supports for victims of trafficking and the low conviction rate for those charged under the law.
The campaign, Rivers said, has raised about $6.5 million from large donations, but still needs about $3.5 million more to help get many of the initiatives off the ground, and make sure they are effective.
The initiatives, called the Urban Response Model, takes a threepronged approach to combating sex trafficking. It includes prevention and early intervention programs aimed at educating potential victims and those who, unknowingly, come into contact with the crime, such as concierges and taxi drivers. It also helps with “crisis response,” getting victims what they need immediately, such as court support, trauma counselling and transitional housing.
Toronto Community Housing announced last year it would give a building, at an undisclosed location somewhere in the city, to the initiative for a $1 annual lease. The City of Toronto is renovating the building, which will have enough room to temporarily house seven victims of human trafficking, officials say, and it is slated to open this spring. The Star stories revealed that trafficked victims from Ontario have had to be sent to British Columbia to take advantage of supports Ontario lacks.
The third piece of the initiative is research, conducted in real time to evaluate program effectiveness and identify any gaps in service.
A largely domestic crime, which is growing in Canada, sex trafficking is a particular problem in Toronto and targets girls between 13 and 17 yearsold, authorities say. Last year alone, local police investigated 319 occurrences, arresting more than 120 pimps and intervening with 63 victims, said Toronto Police detective Joanne Bevin-Desjardin.
The girls are “coerced, beaten . . . sold by pimps to other pimps across Canada,” she said. “Their basic human rights stripped away.”
Already, Bevin-Desjardin said, the new programs are having a positive effect. A few days ago, when local police found a sex-trafficking victim, they called Covenant House’s new 24-hour hotline and trained workers came right away, she says.
In the past, the police would have had to find and co-ordinate all the services for the victim. Now, she says, victims have access to appropriate help and trained professionals right away, who can provide a more fulsome “wrap around” service.
“Before, there wasn’t a co-ordinated model,” Bevin-Desjardin said. “This allows us to be more proactive and get back out there; look for more victims. We are thrilled to be part of this.”
Casandra Diamond, a sex-trafficking survivor, who spoke at the press conference, described how difficult it is for victims to leave sex trafficking and how, sometimes, it takes more than one or two tries to get them out. These new initiatives, she said, “will give more trafficked persons a better chance at reclaiming their lives”
Calling sex trafficking an “urgent problem” and one that we as a society may not “think about enough,” Toronto Mayor John Tory said. “It’s a very important cause for us to take on.” And he said it is time for everyone to do their part. “This city has a big heart,” he said. “I’m optimistic people will step up.”