Trafficking in Persons
Poster Cover Letter
May 2004
Trafficking in Persons Poster
The Department of Justice, on behalf of the Government of Canada, is pleased to provide you with the enclosed poster. The purpose of this poster is to inform the Canadian public that human trafficking exists in Canada and that it is a serious crime.
According to the United Nations (UN) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, to which Canada is a party, human trafficking involves:
- the movement of people across or within borders;
- threats or use of force, coercion and deception; and
- exploitation, whether through forced labour, forced prostitution, or other forms of servitude.
Human trafficking is not migrant smuggling. Migrants are usually free to go once they arrive at their destination; trafficking victims are not.
The UN estimates that up to one million people are trafficked throughout the world each year and, unfortunately, Canada is not immune to this appalling crime. Human trafficking is a violation of human rights and has been described as a modern form of slavery. In Canada, human trafficking is covered by a wide range of Criminal Code offences including kidnapping, forcible confinement, extortion, assault, sexual assault, prostitution-related offences and organized crime offences. In addition, a new human trafficking offence in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (section 118) that attracts severe penalties of up to life imprisonment and/or a one million dollar fine.
Identifying victims of trafficking can be difficult. The victims may appear to be illegal migrants when intercepted at the border. Those involved in prostitution may appear to be willing participants. Victims are often too terrified to contact the police. Victims may not be able to ask for help because many may not speak either English or French. Traffickers often control their victims by threatening to harm them or their families in their countries of origin should victims attempt to flee or contact authorities in Canada.
One of the greatest barriers to stopping this heinous crime is the lack of awareness that trafficking exists in Canada. Trafficking victims may be brought here from abroad or they may be Canadians forced into prostitution or other activities from which they are unable to escape. While the face of trafficking varies, all the victims have one thing in common—they are no longer free.
We hope you will display this poster in a prominent location in offices, or in organizations that provide social services or services to victims of crime, in law enforcement agencies, in airports, in schools, libraries, community centers, youth centers, medical clinics, etc.
To request more copies of the poster, in French or in English, or to provide comments on the poster, you may fill out the attached form and send it to us by facsimile at (613) 946-2211, or by mail at 284 Wellington St., Ottawa, ON, K1A 1H8. For more information on human trafficking, please visit the Department of Justice Internet site at http://canada.justice.gc.ca/eng/fs-sv/ht/index.html.
L’affiche est aussi disponible en français.
|
