Action plan to combat human trafficking passes first-year milestone
OTTAWA, ON—During the past year, Canadian charities and government agencies have been working hard to implement the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. The comprehensive plan seeks to reduce the number of domestic and international human trafficking victims, protect vulnerable groups, and prosecute perpetrators.
"World Vision was very happy to see the National Action Plan being adopted last year and we do feel there has been progress in combating human trafficking," says Stefan Lehmeier, a Senior Policy Advisor for Child Protection at World Vision Canada. "It is interesting to see the level of interest among public officials, we were very happy to see that."
Lehmeier says while many of the government initiatives were in place prior to the plan's adoption, efforts have been consolidated and strengthened. He cautions, however, that there is still a lot of work to be done.
"We have a range of interesting opportunities in front of us, but they need to be seized. The legislation itself is great, but we haven't seen the number of convictions we wanted to see. There is greater need when it comes to enforcement of the law. We know a lot more now who is doing what, but we need to act on that knowledge."
Canadians participating in sex tourism are another serious concern for Lehmeier. He wants to see the RCMP working more with their counterparts in places like Southeast Asia, where human trafficking thrives off of Western sex tourists.
Another area children are often exploited is from corporations looking for cheap labour. But Lehmeier believes consumers can change that by paying attention to where products come from and how they are manufactured.
"We are trying to emphasize the options people have to help address the problem," he states. There is a tremendous lack of awareness about what you can do to stop human trafficking, but there is a surprisingly long list of things you can do."
To help empower Canadians, World Vision launched a website that provides information about the problem and what individuals can do to help. The website includes information about becoming an ethical consumer and a petition asking the government to continue addressing this issues.
Julia Beazley, a policy analyst with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, says there are serious domestic issues with human trafficking, as well.
"Most victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation in Canada are Canadian girls," she states. "We need to be informed and that means knowing what to watch for, what to do if you see signs and educating our kids about how to protect themselves."
Beazley says if Canadians are serious about stopping domestic human trafficking they need to advocate for prostitution law reform as well.
"Everywhere prostitution has been decriminalized you get an increase in human trafficking for sexual exploitation," she explains. "You can't separate prostitution, human trafficking, strip clubs, massage parlours and pornography. They are interconnected. Pornography drives the demand and a lot of these girls are forced to make pornography."
But Canada is making headway and the organizations involved are encouraged by the steps the government is taking.
"On the whole, everyone [is] really happy with the plan," says Beazley. "We felt like the government has listened and taken to heart what we said. We just need to see a continued commitment to rolling it out."
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