Thank you.
Thank you so much to members of the committee for having me here today.
My name is Julia Drydyk, and I'm the executive director at the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking. The centre is a national charity dedicated to ending all types of human trafficking in Canada. We work to mobilize systems change by collaborating and working with various stakeholders to advance best practices, share research and eliminate duplicate efforts across Canada.
In May 2019, the centre launched the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline, a confidential, multilingual service that operates 24-7 to connect victims and survivors with social services and/or law enforcement if they so choose.
I want to share three truths with you today that I’ve learned throughout my time at the centre.
The first is that no one really knows how pervasive human trafficking is in Canada. The few datasets that we do have are incredibly limited in the information they are able to capture. This means that the number of marginalized individuals who do show up in our datasets represents only the tip of the iceberg. That said, the information we do have is concerning.
A staggering 90% of survivors who contact our hotline identify as female. This finding may be intuitive to some Canadians, but it provides additional evidence that human trafficking and particularly sex trafficking need to be understood and addressed as gender-based violence. We also know that approximately 2% of the victims and survivors who contact the hotline identify as transgender men, women or gender-diverse individuals. This means that these groups are eight times more overrepresented in the data relative to their share of the population.
Governments must do more to understand how trafficking impacts high-risk communities, including how it's perpetrated, discussed and understood amongst these groups. We all need to do a better job to tailor our supports to meet those unique cultural needs.
The second truth is that human trafficking is a symptom of much deeper socio-economic factors. Trafficking can happen to anyone, but those who are most economically disadvantaged are at greater risk.
In 2017, the United Nations found that Canadian institutions have historically denied Black Canadians equitable access to economic opportunities. This has led to higher levels of poverty, poor educational outcomes, incarceration and health disparities amongst Black Canadians. We know that this is also true for other historically marginalized groups, including indigenous women and girls, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and migrant workers. Governments need to work holistically to address the economic inequality that makes exploitation and human trafficking possible in our country.
The third truth is that we need to be thoughtful and careful about when and how we involve law enforcement. Many survivors fear police for very understandable reasons. In most cases, survivors are seeking access to counselling, shelters and other services when they call the hotline. Speaking with law enforcement is simply not a priority for the majority of survivors who contact us looking to exit their trafficking situation.
Fortunately, some police agencies are responding to this feedback. In Ontario, specially trained police services are actually stepping back and allowing service providers to lead. This allows service providers to stabilize the situation by addressing a survivor’s immediate needs and building trust. Later, police, who have been trained in trauma-informed care, are then brought in to initiate their investigation. We need to see more police agencies examining and adopting this model across Canada.
I want to share one last observation on the limitations of our criminal justice system.
In Canada, there's an overreliance on testimonial evidence to prosecute human trafficking cases. Victims are often reluctant to share details about their exploitation for fear, shame and difficulty recalling traumatic experiences. We know that the court process in and of itself can be very traumatizing, which acts as a disincentive for survivors to seek justice.
Within this context, maybe it's unsurprising that the current approach rarely leads to successful convictions. A 2019 Statistics Canada report found that less than one in 10 trafficking charges results in a guilty verdict. Canada’s low prosecution rate is concerning. It's telling us that human trafficking continues to be a high-reward, low-risk crime.
Finding justice for victims while reducing harm will require a significant shift away from standard practices. We need to move towards approaches that better leverage other types of evidence.
I want to thank the committee again for inviting me to speak with you today. I'd be pleased to answer any questions you may have.