Human trafficking is rooted in long-standing gender, race, and power inequalities. It is a multi-faceted social problem, fed by serious poverty and social exclusion – especially the lack of economic options for poor women and girls. It is influenced by situations of corruption and made more challenging by the complexity of international jurisdictional issues.
World sporting events are well known as occasions for increased trafficking. So what can we expect as Canada plays host to the 2010 Olympic Games? Read more »
By Chandra Pasma | Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 - 6:43PM
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On Sunday evening, I attended the Sisters in Spirit vigil in Ottawa on behalf of the Christian Reformed Church. Sisters in Spirit vigils were held across the country to remember the more than 500 missing and murdered Aboriginal girls and women.
I was astonished when I first heard that number – 520 women as victims of extreme violence sounds like a pandemic to me. The reality is the number is possibly much higher. 520 is the number of known cases, there is some speculation that the number of unknown cases would double that number. Read more »
By Mariel Angus | Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 - 2:21PM
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On Monday, June 22, Chandra and I gave a presentation on human trafficking to a group of at Kanata Community Christian Reformed Church. The evening was organized by Jacquie Mudde, Chandra’s aunt, and Lois Kerr, both of whom are involved in the Ottawa Intercity Ministries (OIM).Jacquie and Lois invited us to speak about trafficking in order to learn more about the issue, and particularly its impact on vulnerable women. Read more »
By Mariel Angus | Monday, June 15th, 2009 - 8:20AM
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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. Read more »
By Mariel Angus | Thursday, June 4th, 2009 - 1:05PM
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The Vancouver 2010 Olympics are drawing near. Construction projects are being completed. Tickets are being sold. Athletes are training hard in anticipation of their moment in the spotlight.
And human traffickers are on the lookout for vulnerable people – mainly women and children – to bring to Vancouver and exploit during the Games. Read more »
By Mariel Angus | Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 - 2:59PM
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Joy Smith’s Private Members’ Bill, C-268 – which aims to establish a mandatory minimum sentence for the trafficking of minors – will be voted on in the House of Commons on Wednesday April 22 2009. Read more »
In 2008, a man named Imani Nakpangi was convicted of trafficking a 15-year-old girl. For over two years, Nakpangi sold her daily for sex and controlled her through beatings and threats of violence. By the time he was discovered by police, he had made a personal profit of over $360,000 from exploiting her.
Many Canadians might be disturbed to learn that human trafficking still exists today – and even more shocked to discover it is happening in their own backyards. Read more »
By Mariel Angus | Friday, April 3rd, 2009 - 8:25AM
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I was looking up information about Joy Smith’s bill on the Parliament of Canada website for my blog yesterday and found two other bills on human trafficking that are being processed. Read more »
By Mariel Angus | Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 - 1:32PM
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Human trafficking is has been described as the “tragedy of the 21st century” for the horrors experienced by victims and its widespread invisibility to the public eye.Conservative Member of Parliament Joy Smith has recently introduced bill C-268, which proposes to place a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for those convicted of being involved in the trafficking a child under the age of 18. Read more »
By Mariel Angus | Monday, March 23rd, 2009 - 1:52PM
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On Friday, March 20, I attended a talk by David Batstone, the founder of the Not For Sale Campaign to end the global slave trade. In his talk, Batstone called human trafficking “the tragedy of the 21st century.” He presented some troubling statistics: it is estimated that there are 27 million people enslaved around the globe today. Read more »
Human trafficking is rooted in long-standing gender, race, and power inequalities. It is a multi-faceted social problem, fed by serious poverty and social exclusion – especially the lack of economic options for poor women and girls. It is influenced by situations of corruption and made more challenging by the complexity of international jurisdictional issues.
