Group seeking to raise awareness of human trafficking

By Rob Vogt Local Press Writer
Human trafficking is an issue that can affect any community large or small, in different ways, and a pair of local citizens want to raise awareness that it could touch Claresholm too.
If it does, they want people to know what to look for and what to do.
To that end, on June 9 there will be an information session on human trafficking put on by the Claresholm and District Chamber of Commerce and Claresholm’s Economic Development Committee.
Human trafficking can be described as modern-day slavery involving the recruitment, transportation, or harbouring of persons for the purpose of exploitation, typically in the sex trade or through forced labour.
Claresholm’s Kathy Davies and Irene Leeds want to raise awareness in this community about human trafficking.
Leeds first became involved with the issue as part of an organization called Servants’ Anonymous which has become RESET or Rapid Exit from Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking.
She and Davies volunteered at a conference in Calgary on human trafficking in September of 2019 that brought together law enforcement, border security, and other organizations.
RESET will rescue people and keep them for a month where health checks are done and support provided. After a month, they are transferred to another facility where they receive help.
An Alberta Human Trafficking Task Force has also been established.
“There are a lot of people working on human trafficking,” Davies said.
However, she left feeling there were a lot of organizations addressing the issue but were not necessarily coordinated in their activities.
She and Leeds realized the best way for them to address the issue of human trafficking is through education.
“Education is the biggest way to stop the trafficking,” Leeds said.
“We thought if we could educate the public but also the children in school,” Davies said.
The first step is to get information on human trafficking into the schools, and make students aware of the threat of being exploited.
To that end, they and members of the RCMP recently made a presentation at Willow Creek Composite High School on human trafficking through the RCMP and school’s risk reduction program.
A lot of exploitation starts online where predators look for victims on social media.
Davies said predators are very savvy, befriending victims and grooming them by utilizing information victims post about themselves.
Predators will ask hundreds of questions to gain the information they need.
Davies cited one example where a girl said she wanted to make her parents proud of her. So, after she had been recruited, she was told by the predator after turning her first trick, how proud he was of her.
Where it could directly affect Claresholm is directly on Highway 2.
A lot of girls are transported from place to place, and they could be stopping at service stations, convenience stores and restaurants along the highway.
Consequently, Leeds and Davies would like to raise awareness among staff at those businesses of the signs of human trafficking.
The average age of exploitation is 12 to 14 years.
In a convenience store or gas station, it could be a man accompanying a girl into the washroom or waiting closely outside, or speaking on behalf of a girl and not allowing her to talk.
In a neighbourhood, a sign could be people coming and going from a home at odd or unusual hours; or seeing people that did not live there before. There can also be physical, emotional, or drug abuse.
In the home, parents can look for signs such as their daughter being on her phone more; becoming more evasive; receiving gifts; and having extra money.
The intent of predators is to groom and isolate their victims.
“Parents (and businesses) need to know what to watch for,” Leeds said.
If someone sees the signs, they are encouraged not to attempt to rescue the victim, but phone it in by calling 911 or 211.
The challenge is that victims are conditioned not to trust law enforcement, or fear that contacting the police can bring harm to their own families.
“These people are very good at what they do,” Davies said. “At exploiting, at trafficking.”
People can learn more about the signs and symptoms of human trafficking, and what to do if they see signs of human trafficking, when RESET makes that presentation on June 9, as an Opportunity for Growth presentation by the Chamber of Commerce.
Leeds and Davies said human trafficking is a huge concern.
“There’s more people enslaved now then in history,” Davies said.
The main reason is that it has become a lucrative crime.
It is estimated $280,000 can be made by each victim in a year, making it second only to arms and drug trafficking among crimes. The real tragedy is a drug is sold once, where a person is sold over and over.
It is also difficult to define the scope of the problem.
“It’s hard to get statistics because a lot of this is never reported,” Davies said.
Moreover, human trafficking has been around a long time. The United Nations declared it an issue in the 1940s.
“This is not a new thing,” Davies said.
What is new is that law enforcement is now getting the tools to deal with human trafficking. One such example is a change in the law where the pimp, and not the girl, is being charged with the crime.
There are also a lot of resources available.
The Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline is 1-833-900-1010. It is multilingual, confidential, and operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Their website is canadiancentretoendhumantrafficking.ca.
RESET can be reached at 1-403-918-7311 or by visiting www.resetcaary.ca.
There is also “#Not in my city”. It offers information and an online course on human trafficking and sexual exploitation by visiting https://notinmycity.ca.