Since coming back to Winnipeg after life on the road, the PJ team has been busy plugging into several community outreaches. One of them has been the Vineyard drop in for the homeless. I have loved getting to know these wonderful people and I truly miss seeing them now that we are back in the office on a daily basis.

Something else we’ve been challenged with is solo assignments. Each girl was assigned a project to carry out on her own (hence solo). Mine was to do an investigative report on human trafficking in Winnipeg. I had to research the topic and interview 2 people to further my research and present my finding. What I found was truly astonishing – and you need to know it too.

Here are some things you need to know:

·        Human trafficking is defined as the  “recruitment, transportation, and harboring of a person for the purposes of forced slavery”

·        79% of the trafficking that takes place is sexual exploitation

·        The United Nations estimates that 1-4 million people are trafficked each year, making it the 3rd largest illegal market

·        Human trafficking is a $10 billion business

Before I started this assignment, whenever I thought of sex trafficking I always thought of it as an international problem – something that happens in Thailand or Africa, but not in Canada. I was definitely wrong.

·        400 children and youth are being exploited on the streets of Winnipeg each year

·        the average age is 13

·        85-90% are female

·        75% are under the age of 18

·        80% are Aboriginal

Factors influencing the sex trade include:

·        poverty

·        high unemployment rates

·        domestic violence/childhood abuse

·        discrimination against women

·        desire for a better life and a way to help their families

Here are some more startling facts:

·        Winnipeg has the most frightening prevalence of sexual exploitation of girls among several major Canadian cities

·        The buy and sell website Craigslist offers an easy vehicle for advertising sex with trafficking victims

·        More than 300 advertisements for selling sex with women and children go up each week on Craigslist

The Problem:

1. Not enough Safe Houses in Winnipeg (Safe House refers specifically to shelters catered toward victims of exploitation)
2. Four community organizations exists in this city providing a total of 34 beds – remember, there are 400 trafficking victims on the streets of Winnipeg
3. Age 13 is the youngest that a girl can enter a Safe House. Age 13 is also the average age of victims of the sex trade. By 13 most girls are veterans of sexual exploitation.
4. Zero shelters exist for boys.

But, there is hope. Joy Smith, Member of Parliament for Kildonan – St. Paul recently passed a bill to have the Canadian Criminal Law amended! Joy is recognized as Canada’s leading anti-trafficking activist. On September 30, 2009, Bill C-268 was passed. The bill introduces a mandatory minimum of 5 year prison sentence for anyone who traffics a person under the age of 18.

Canada has only seen one conviction of child trafficking (although there are more in process before the courts). The offender received 2 years for trafficking a 15 year old girl for 3 years. He made $350,000. He spent less time in jail for his crime than he did exploiting this girl.

So what can you do? Get informed. Get involved. Support a cause.

Here are some great websites:

·        www.thetruthisntsexy.com (Salvation Army)

·        www.canadafightshumantrafficking.com

·        www.stopthetraffik.org

·        www.beyondborders.org (Canada’s global voice against child sexual exploitation)

As we fight the global issue of human trafficking together, let us remember that God is the God of this city, the King of these people, and the Lord of this nation.

-Natalie Binder