In what could become Canada’s first human trafficking conviction in history, four people (3 men and 1 woman) have been arrested for a variety of charges including human trafficking and forcible confinement after two women who were brought over here under the false pretences of working as models went to the Toronto police seeking help. But contrary to what most of us would like to believe, that these women were rescued by police – there attackers going to jail – and that everyone lived happily ever after. Unfortunately, that is not the case, for if you read the newspaper article closely you’ll notice that the two victims are currently being held “protective custody”, which is a polite term for saying that they are in jail but, unlike the rest of the population in jail, these women are in private cells rather than with the other women.

I don’t know about any of you, but personally I feel really gross about victims going to jail for reporting a crime – especially since the offenders will be out in a few days due to bail. I just can’t wrap my head around putting “sex slaves” into jail – which treats them like slaves – and how that could possibly help an exploited woman. Jailing the victim confuses the fuck out of me, especially since the Canadian government poured millions of dollars into a human trafficking campaign to get victims to come forward.
There is absolutely no reason to hold a victim of human trafficking in jail, for it neither benefits the police (as holding a victim in jail, even for a short time, will more than likely deter her/him from cooperating with the investigation), nor the victim who is suffering from enough anguish (especially since many organizations have opened safe houses for trafficked women). What our anti-human trafficking laws essentially do is punish the victims – mostly women –as there have been numerous deportations of migrant women believed to have been trafficked in
With “rescue” options like these it’s no wonder more victims don’t come forward as you can’t feel freedom while wearing a pair of handcuffs.
Hi Wendy thanks for coming to visit me!!