I am going to concentrate on two points, the work of the research group on sexual trafficking in Quebec and the proposals made by the CLES concerning human trafficking and prostitution in Canada.
I want to point out at the outset that it was in part an initiative of the World March of Women, a network of which I was until very recently the coordinator, to establish the CLES. It is a world network for action that operates in 68 countries and that combats women's poverty and violence against women. In the current context of neo-liberal globalization, which increases inequalities, in particular between men and women, we have been especially concerned for a number of years now about growing militarization, which forces more and more people, particularly women, to move within their own country or to another country. We feel that the commodification of women's bodies has become one of the major issues at the dawn of this millennium.
That is why we worked to establish the CLES and to help set up a research group on sex trafficking in Quebec. People often ask whether there is sex trafficking, what form it takes, etc. The research group's report will soon be available, but I can tell you right now about a number of typical cases we were able to document, which demonstrate the complexity of the problem if we are to intervene.
The first example is that of a woman I will call Maria. A native of Ethiopia, she wanted to leave her country because she was in a violent relationship. She met the friend of a friend who said he could get her into Canada and find her a job. She agreed to go with him, even though she did not have the money to pay him. He told at the outset that it was not serious, and that once they were there, she would have a good job and would be able to repay him from time to time. She went along with him and was able to get through customs with him.
As soon as she was in Canada, he took her to a motel where two accomplices were waiting for them. For a week, she was beaten and raped. She was told that her work in Canada would be prostitution. After five days of this kind of treatment, she had an opportunity to run away and to meet someone in the street who told her how to get to a help centre for immigrants. She was helped to set in motion the process to obtain refugee status. However, the traffickers succeeded in tracking her down and getting in touch with her, even at the immigrant centre. She therefore went into hiding for her own safety. As we speak, she is somewhere in Canada. We hope that she is healthy and safe, but we have not had any information about her.
The second example is that of a woman from Jamaica who was able to obtain a visa, probably as a tourist, to come to Canada. She remained here after her visa expiry date, thereby becoming an illegal immigrant. On a street in Montreal, she met a man, whom we will call Robert. They became friends. She then fell in love with him. A few weeks or a few months after their relationship began, he took her to a bar where there were exotic dancers and told her that she was an illegal immigrant and that she would have to do what the girls there were doing, namely dance for him. She remained under the control of this pimp for six years, who toured her across Canada. She too decided to act. She reported the pimp to the police. Following her initial contacts with the police, she decided she did not want to take the matter further and she too vanished somewhere in Canada.
The third case is that of a woman from Russia who came here under the family reunification program. Her father—at least we assume that he was her father—was here in Canada. As soon as she arrived in Canada, she was offered work in a massage parlour. She is currently working there 7 days a week, 17 hours a day, for the sole purpose of bringing her mother over to Canada.