As much as we like to believe true evil doesn’t exist in our world, people at the Human Sex Trafficking forum hosted last week by MPP Rick Nicholls tell a different story, one that hits close to home.
We now know that sex trafficking is happening in and around our community of Chatham-Kent. That isn’t a vague rumour or speculation, that is fact, and our young women are in danger.
As a survivor spoke at the meeting, telling a horrifying tale of the eight years she spent with her trafficker, there were gasps at what she endured, clapping and head nodding when she persevered, and many questions about what can be done and how people can help.
With the average age of a victim in Canada at 14, we need to inform ourselves and our teens on how to keep themselves safe from predators on social media, at parties, schools, shelters, modeling studios, malls, playgrounds, bus stops and a host of other places traffickers troll for victims.
We need to have conversations with our teens about healthy relationships and what one looks like. Traffickers will often use the loverboy/Romeo method of luring vulnerable teens, and we all need to know what to look for.
Chatham-Kent Victim Services has received some government funding to get victims immediate assistance, but more is needed. Awareness is a big part of prevention. When you educate yourself and your teens, you help reduce the chance a predator will be able to develop a relationship that leads to a very dark path.
These women, and yes, some young men, are Canadian-born. Ontario is responsible for 60 per cent of all the trafficking occurring in Canada. It is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the nation, according to MPP Laurie Scott, who helped craft the anti-trafficking legislation, and is a growing problem worldwide.
When a trafficker can make $280,000 per year from one victim, the money to be made far outweighs the risk for them.
If you missed the forum, check out the YourTV listings on March 28 to begin educating yourself. If you are a parent or grandparent of a young teen, this is information you need to know.
