We’re helping survivors of trafficking make it home

Our Kawartha Lakes community is a wonderful place. It also has aspects that many of us don’t know about, and that we might find hard to believe. But just because we have trouble accepting them doesn’t mean they don’t exist, causing real women and girls real harm.

Sex trafficking — forcing another person to have sex for money against their will — is one of those things many of us would prefer to think happens elsewhere. Not only is that a limited view and an inaccurate one, it can also create barriers that staffers at Women’s Resources are working to dismantle so that local residents understand that sex trafficking happens locally.

“The hardest part is the fact that a lot of people assume that it just happens in big cities or overseas, whereas it’s happening everywhere,” says a member of our anti-human trafficking team. (We are keeping her identity private to protect her and those she works with.) Women and girls are being subjected to sex trafficking right here, by local men and sometimes men from outside the area.

Another persistent misconception, she says, is that “the people being trafficked are drug addicts and this is their way of paying for their drugs.” In fact, many victims were not users until their trafficker introduced them to drugs, or, in some cases, forced them to start doing drugs.

Despite these common misunderstandings, the team at Women’s Resources has been working for years to help those who’ve been trafficked to escape and build new lives of dignity and self-sufficiency. Some women (of course services extend to all who identify as female) come to our shelter, Victoria’s, where they hone life skills like banking and cooking and receive counselling and many other kinds of support to get them ready to live on their own. Others prefer to participate in our outreach programs where they have access to trauma therapy, mental health counselling, court support, obtaining identification and much more. The team provides outreach services to male victims of trafficking as well, and works with 2SLGBTQ+ folks, who are especially vulnerable to sex trafficking.

“They come to us with anxiety, PTSD and fear—fear that somebody’s going to find them or know who they are,” says the staff member. “They might not be ready at first, but we always let them know that when they’re ready and want to start their life, they can trust us.” Many survivors of trafficking think of leaving, or even try to do so, several times before they are finally able to say that they want something better and make that all-important move.

Although sex trafficking is a reality in our area, survivors also turn up in Kawartha Lakes from other places. Similarly, local people are sometimes trafficked to other parts of Canada, into the U.S. or even overseas. Women’s Resources is working with police, victim services and other organizations on the new Pathways program to help survivors in both situations to make it home. That might mean anything from linking them with family to see whether they’ll be accepted if they return to practical support for transportation and reintegration.

For the people who want to leave a life of sex trafficking behind and go home to start a new, better life, our worker has a simple message: “We’re committed. We’re non-judgemental. And we’re here to help.”

By Nancy Payne