On a day to day basis, millions of children around the world are abused, sexually exploited, and discriminated against. Children’s rights have always been at top priority, especially in Canada, because of the high level of vulnerability a child has to harm. In 1989, Canada adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Children’s Human Rights – Canada, 2015). This convention, which happens to be one of the most important treaties regarding International human rights, provides a strong foundation in protecting children around the world. Since then, Canada has been making multiple amendments in the law and is working to improve children’s rights in areas such as child labor, children affected in armed conflict, and children …show more content…
With all of these definitions, one thing is extremely evident, under a legal perspective, child trafficking is wrong. Human (of all ages) trafficking is an indictable offence under the Criminal Code of Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Human Trafficking: Government of Canada, 2014). Trafficking is extremely difficult to assess, follow and punish because the crimes involving is much hidden and happens “underground”. Although women seem to be the majority at risk in Canada for Trafficking, children aren’t much behind and fall victim to …show more content…
There are a lot of legal implementations and developments going underway to prevent and protect children from the victimization of child trafficking. There is a policy to give a temporary immigration status to foreign people (including children) who maybe victims of trafficking and do not have a legal status in Canada. This policy allows victims to: get a temporary residence, grants them to emergency health services, get long time residence in Canada permits which could allow them to apply for work permits if they stay here long enough (Department of Justice, 2015). Canada has been working to strengthen the capacity of police officers and higher officials to detect and prosecute human trafficking cases. Child trafficking is illegal in Canada, which means under no legal aspect is it okay for it to happen. There are many laws that are written in the criminal code to protect victims and prosecute offenders however a crime like such is very difficult to bring out into public
... middle of paper ... ... Underprivileged and depressed children are victims that are usually targeted and because of that, governments and human rights organizations have created laws that protect victims and prosecute traffickers. The act of luring victims into sex trafficking takes a form where the trafficker has to find ways to please the target and get victims to rely on them. Physical and psychological pain are inflicted on victims in order for them to stay in the Life which causes later effects felt by the victims when freed.
Kotrla, K., & Wommack, B. A. (2011). Sex Trafficking of Minors in the U.S.: Implications for Policy, Prevention and Research. Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 2 (Iss. 1), article 5.
The research community has been given the opportunity to make a practical assessment of the trafficking phenomenon in Canada to include the characteristics of victims and traffickers, trafficking trajectories, and the services needed to support and protect victims. Unfortunately, these opportunities for collecting data have not been embraced, and there has been very little research on trafficking in human beings in Canada, (Laczko, Godzdziak, 2005, p. 99). A complaint for more data from the Strategic Planning and Policy Unit of Counseling and Audit Canada developed an Inventory of Information Needs and Available Information in Women
Caroline Stevermer, an American novelist, once wrote, “How dreadful… to be caught up in a game and have no idea of the rules.” Indeed, the quest for eternal prosperity bares an ancient path that allures pursuers into a deep state of oblivion. As one follows this trail, their vision of reality soon becomes blurred by their dreams of triumph. Ultimately, this enduring road guides an innocent pursuer onto the board of another’s game to become their lifeless pawn. Prostitution is this game. This immoral act involves the exchange of sexual services for financial gain. In Canada, the act of prostitution has never been a crime, but the government has combated this atrocity through criminalizing all activities surrounding the transaction. However,
An estimated 20.9 million people are currently being trafficked worldwide (The Polaris Project, 2014). According to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA, reauthorized in 2013), sex trafficking is defined as, “A commercial sex act induced by force, fraud, or coercion, and/or in which the person induced to...
Awareness of child sexual trafficking can be viewed as a balanced scale, with one side representing the country’s population that is fully informed of the issue, while the other side is either unaware or unattached to the issue. The public needs to have more involvement with this affair based on multiple concerns; first, the act of child sex trafficking itself is a serious crime that violates human rights (Fong & Cardoso, 2010). Second, various negative health repercussion including transmittable sexual diseases, physical damages, mental disturbance, post traumatic stress disorders, and other illnesses plague many victims (Fong & Cardoso, 2010). Third, sexual trafficking is responsible for generating poverty as a result of obstructing economic, and social development (Reid, 2012). Child sex trafficking proves to be a global dilemma affecting numerous countries
CTV News shared breaking news on October, 23, 2013 that four Romanian women were found being victimized to human trafficking in Montreal. These women were lured to Canada hoping that they would find a better future but instead were forced into prostitution (2013). Human trafficking is an issue that is rarely acknowledged by Canadians. Most people are either unaware of the problem or do not recognize it as something that is happening in their own backyard. Although Canadians are exposed to the severity of human trafficking in other countries, Canadian citizens are unaware of the fact that Canada is not only a transit point for the United States but also a destination country. Information from the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre states “The RCMP estimates that 600-800 persons are trafficked into Canada annually, predominantly for sexual purposes, also additional 1,500-2,200 people are trafficked through Canada and into the United states” (2010). Canada is a source of transit and destination for human trafficking, some of the victims being as young as twelve years old (Human trafficking, 2010). The definition of what human trafficking is focusing on who the victims are and who the traffickers, the increase in trafficking due to globalization, and the role Canada plays in preventing it will all be explained further.
Globally, about 20 to 30 million people are involved in the human trafficking system, and of those, 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked in the United States every year. Human trafficking is more prevalent today then ever before. It is the third largest crime internationally. People are abused and taken advantage of. According to the article, “11 Facts About Human Trafficking,” on average, a person is forced into the system around age 9, and the majority of victims are women and girls, with a small percentage of men and boys. In addition, the human trafficking system is a $32 billion dollar industry. Human trafficking can be defined as the selling and trade of human beings, ranging anywhere from children to adults, for the purpose of sexual slavery or involuntary labor, but Faith Alliance against Slavery and Trafficking (FAAST) is working to provide relief and hope for people involved in the system (“Child Trafficking”).
Sex trafficking is when women, young girls, and young boys are held in slavery and forced into prostitution for the financial gain of others in brothels in the United States, Europe, and other developing countries such as Thailand and the Philippines (Sexual Slavery). It’s happened to many women and children throughout many years in many of these countries for money and more power. Often purchased or kidnapped off the street, women, girls, and boys are trafficked across international
In the single year of 2009, there were 460,000 reported incidents of sexual assault against women in Canada (“Criminal Victimization in Canada” 1). Amnesty International once stated that aggression against women “is so deeply embedded in society that it often fails to garner public censure and outrage.” This is evidenced by the fact that only roughly 10% of all sexual assaults are revealed, and to exacerbate the circumstances, women are frequently repudiated, blamed, and dispensed apathetic or cruel manipulation (“Violence Against Women Information” 1). Women’s rights are constantly defiled through domestic violence, and yet it is still abounding and ubiquitous in developed countries. Indeed, every six days, a woman in Canada is brutally killed by the one whom she considered her loving male partner. With every year that passes, approximately 362,000 children are witness to violent parental episodes in Canada. Witnessing violence can disturb the development of children and can eventuate in
Sex trafficking has many definitions when looked up and there has yet to be solid internationally used definition, but the over all main meaning found throughout all is the act of forcing a person through violence, manipulation, drugs, threats, etc. to perform sexual acts of all types against their wills; and as said by George in Sex Trafficking and Sex Work: Definitions, Debates and Dynamics — A Review of Literature it is when “primarily women and children are coerced or deceived for the purpose of commercial sex exploitation.” Sex trafficking is clearly a violation of a persons human rights and is a type of modern slavery that unfortunately countless of people have to become victims of. People from all over the world are potential victims
In “Confronting Human Trafficking in Canada”, (Perrin 2009) discusses the complexity of human trafficking and the human rights this act violates. Perrin states that statistics available to the public on human trafficking cases are probably a fraction of the actual number. Many victims are unable to come forward due to threats and violence from their traffickers. Trafficking in persons only became a Criminal Code offence in November 2005. To date Perrin states that, convictions under trafficking ...
Sex trafficking is essentially systemic rape for profit. Force, fraud and coercion are used to control the victim’s behavior which may secure the appearance of consent to please the buyer (or john). Behind every transaction is violence or the threat of violence (Axtell par. 4). Just a decade ago, only a third of the countries studied by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had legislation against human trafficking. (Darker Side, par.1) Women, children, and even men are taken from their homes, and off of the streets and are brought into a life that is almost impossible to get out of. This life is not one of choice, it is in most times by force. UNODC estimates that the total international human trafficking is a $32-billion-per-year business, and that 79% of this activity comprises sexual exploitation. As many as 2 million children a year are victims of commercial sexual exploitation, according the the U.S. State Department.-- Cynthia G. Wagner. (Darker Side, par. 4) The words prostitute, pimp, escort, and stripper tend to be way too common in the American everyday vocabulary. People use these words in a joking manner, but sex trafficking is far from a joke. Everyday, from all different countries, people are bought and sold either by force or false promises. Some are kidnapped and others come to America with dreams of a dream life and job. The buyers involved in the trade will do anything to purchase an innocent life just to sell for their own selfish profit. Many people wouldn’t think of a human body to be something you can buy in the back room of a business or even online. But those plus the streets are where people are sold most often. There are many reasons and causes for sex trafficking. The factors behind sex traffic...
Human trafficking is a worldwide problem. From California to Australia, it happens. “161 countries are reported to be affected by human trafficking by being either a source, transit, or destination count. Out of the 161 countries, 56% of those are in Asia and the Pacific, being the number one place it occurs” (UNGIFT). Trailing far behind with 10% is Latin America and the Caribbean” (UNGIFT). No matter the location or the state of the economy, human trafficking is always in progress. “People are reported to be trafficked from 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries, affecting every continent and every type of economy” (UNGIFT). “The majority of trafficking victims are between the ages of 18 and 24 years old” (UNGIFT). Just because those are the most common ages, doesn't mean that it only happens to them. Children are also affected by human trafficking. “An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year” (UNGIFT). So many people think that it is just teens and adults that get stuck into the trafficking business, but it is also small children.
Child labour is an issue that has plagued society since the earliest of times. Despite measures taken by NGOs as well as the UN, child labour is still a prevalent problem in today’s society. Article 23 of the Convention on the Rights of a Child gives all children the right to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child 's education, or to be harmful to the child 's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.1 Child labour clearly violates this right as well as others found in the UDHR. When we fail to see this issue as a human rights violation children around the world are subjected to hard labour which interferes with education, reinforces