Fighting human trafficking, one community at a time

One of the crucial ways to fight human trafficking is to build awareness about the prevalence of this horrific crime, and that is exactly what many community groups in Canada have begun to do.

I went to an excellent event this past Wednesday evening that was hosted by members of the Catholic Women’s League (CWL) from St. John the Baptist Parish in Perth, Ontario. A few months ago, four women from the CWL began a committee in Perth to fight human trafficking, and this was one of their first events.

On Wednesday, May 10, the committee hosted a forum on trafficking and invited members of the local community to attend and hear two presentations on the issue. Major Grant Effer of the Salvation Army and Constable Brenda Whitteron of the RCMP were invited to speak, and they both gave moving and informative presentations on the situation of trafficking in Canada.

Grant provided an overview of trafficking and talked about the work the Salvation Army’s Anti-Trafficking Task Force is engaged in to build awareness. Constable Whitteron then shared the RCMP’s role in helping combat trafficking, including their newly developed educational materials for law enforcement and immigration officials.

A question-and-answer period followed the speakers, and I had the opportunity to speak and answer some questions about aboriginal trafficking and the need for greater advocacy from ordinary citizens.

I was impressed with the turnout – over sixty people attended – and at the high caliber of the presentations. The horrific nature of the crime of trafficking seems to stir something in many people to take action against it, and the turnout at the forum certainly demonstrated this. I was inspired by the hard work of the committee and I hope that more people continue to take up the fight to end this terrible modern-day slavery.