By Gbadebo Fuad Olanrewaju

Human Trafficking can be

defined as the movement of
individuals or persons for the
purposes of profit, organized
crime or involvement in the sex
trade. In Canada, the term
Human Trafficking has become
synonymous with prostitution or
pimping as it is often referred to
in the United States.

Whats wrong with Prostitution? (Human Trafficking in Canada)

Any discussion about an understanding of prostitution in modern
society must first be grounded using an historical perspective and
understanding of the controversial nature of the topic of prostitution.
Colloquially speaking, prostitution is often represented in everyday speech
and everyday life as the oldest profession of all time and although these
claims are unfounded and there is no way to accurately pinpoint that this is
true. The important thing as it comers to and understanding of this being one
of the oldest professions of all time is to pinpoint that this is a very polarizing
topic and therefore there will be many unique viewpoints and also it crosses
the gender line which has become as much of a classification category as
ethnicity and nationality. This particular discourse will center its conversation
around an understanding of Igor Primoratzs; Whats wrong with
prostitution? because the viewpoints expressed in the book are polarizing
and often there are criticisms of the logic and understanding within the book
as having some fallacies and poorly constructed conclusions. Igor Primoratz
is an author of Croatian descent who has written books in the paradigms of
state relations and also terrorism and the book being discussed within this
discourse was written in 1993. Igor Primoratz is a revered author as it
concerns the paradigms of state/national relations and terrorism and his
book on prostitution is categorically placed in the section of philosophy
because many of the viewpoints and conclusions are not based off empirical
and tangible evidence but rather, the opinions and conjecture of the author.
This essay will explore some of fallacies and conclusions that are presented
within the book and explore if these are baseless and unfounded or if there
are truths and perspectives that are valid within the book.
further understanding and centralizing this particular discussion

around Canada will require and understanding of the some of the laws and
usage of language in Canada and often prostitution in the illegal sense is
often referred to as Human trafficking. The terminology has become
interchangeable with the understanding with Pimping and prostitution in
Canada within media and also in general mundane usage. The current laws
regarding prostitution in Canada make it a very difficult thing to manage and
understand because it is grey area as it not deemed illegal to sell sex but it is
illegal to purchase. The problems that arises within the Canadian construct is
that human trafficking for the purposes of the sex-trade is increasingly
becoming problematic. Human Trafficking can be defined as the movement
of individuals or persons for the purposes of profit, organized crime or
involvement in the sex trade. In Canada, the term Human Trafficking has
become synonymous with prostitution or pimping as it is often referred to in
the United States. According to a report by the Royal Canadian mounted
police (2010), human trafficking is being controlled by the organized crime
institutions with international connections and also many of the victims are
Canadian citizens or permanent residents (1). It is necessary to detach from
all emotional and moral positions when you begin to research and
disseminate information about human trafficking and sexual exploitation
because the facts and the statistics are the key to understanding the deeprooted societal flaws that creates a climate for human trafficking to thrive.
Kaye, Winterdyk & Quaterman (1993) state that, Specifically, responses
varied about whether or not the majority of trafficked persons in Calgary are
male or female; yet there was general agreement that those trafficked for
labour exploitation were typically male (with the exception of domestic
servitude) and those trafficked for sexual exploitation were typically female
(p.30). This is relevant because it is informed that men and women are
trafficked at almost a similar rate but for the females, sexual exploitation and
abuse is a staple of human trafficking. The Aboriginal populations of Canada
serves as a good case study in the topic of human trafficking and
exploitation in Canada because these peoples have historically been

marginalized and subjected to economic deprivation. Lack of resources and

also being born into broken homes and also loss of cultural identity forces
many aboriginal women into the dark world of prostitution and addiction.
Human trafficking and sexual exploitation does not exist in a vacuum and it
often coincides with addiction, low socio-economic status and historical
oppression. A 2014 report by the Natives womens association of Canada
gives information on the conditions that accompany the trafficking of Native
women; they speak bluntly about the issue of the normalized violence that is
often-seen hallmark when cultures have faced generational, systemic
discrimination as well as the Indian Residential School Intergenerational
effect. The normalized violence damages the youth sense of what is
acceptable (22). This is making direct reference to the historical oppression,
marginalized frame of mind and miseducation that has forced many natives
to imbibe a culture of crime and addiction. This all factors into the vice of
prostitution because the anti-social behaviours are not isolated from rough
upbringing and access to lack of economic opportunity. This essay will look at
the statistical information about the socio-economic/ethnic status of the
women that fall victim to human trafficking/prostitution and the social
constructs that help to keep women victims and these situations; while also
exploring the normalization and desensitization of everyday society to
human trafficking.
The women and people that fall victim to human trafficking and sexual
exploitation come from unique situations but there are several similarities
you find in the social makeup of the victims of human trafficking. These
similarities are economic deprivation, marginalization of a specific ethnic
group and also and history of oppression that has decimated the leadership
in the community. An excerpt from a statement by a community member in
Nova Scotia is transcribed in the 2014 Canadian Womens foundation report
as follows; Today, I look at black women from our communities involved in
the sex industry. I look at the limited employment opportunities,

compounded by racialized stigma. And I look at how many African Nova

Scotians are still isolated economically and socially -- on the outskirts of
cities (26). There is a wealth of statistics and research that states that
people find it difficult to escape the vices of their environments especially
when the rate of dysfunction is so high that it becomes normalized. This is
reiterated in the excerpt in the previous paragraph that discussed history of
oppression in aboriginal communities as a result of residential schools and
the mass death of many of the citizens of these varying First Nations
cultures. Human trafficking and sexual exploitation is really an unfortunate
situation that tends to find the most vulnerable people because the
perpetrators have usually come from situations where these things have
become normalized for them. Aboriginal people make a very good case study
for human trafficking because of the historic discrimination and also the
extermination campaign that decimated their populations by large numbers.
African-Canadians and Eastern Europeans are also a good population to
study because there is a lack of economic stability for many African
Canadians and sometimes their homelands are uninhabitable. Eastern
Europeans are privy to Organized crime human trafficking and Canada is a
good destination for these trafficked women. Gjermeni et al. (2008) explain
the social situation of the groups susceptible to human trafficking in Albania:
Families of marginalized social groups, especially the Roma and Gypsy
groups, are especially likely to be poor because they face social
discrimination, high levels of illiteracy, poor health conditions, and lack of
employment possibilities within the mainstream economy. Work rather than
schooling is valued (p. 943). This is important because the resultant effect
of lack of economic resources forces children and sometimes adults to begin
to clamour and become desperate for resources and working for monetary
gain becomes more importance than receiving an education that can
possibly provide sustenance for a life time. This mentality is often carried
into migrant countries such as Canada and many of these people that get
involved with human trafficking for labour exploitation as well as prostitution

do not have documents that makes them legal citizens once they are able to
migrate into Canada. This provides another set of challenges because being
an illegal citizen in a developed nation such as Canada forces these victims
into under-the-table employment situations or they become forced into the
underworld of sex or drug trade. Is the general public and the Canadian
government complicit in this situation? The new trend for the advertisement
and business of human trafficking is done through websites and Attaran
(2010) discusses this in his literary book review by stating:
Let us begin by assessing the success stories, namely the
cases where human traffickers are caught, prosecuted and
sentenced to punishment. There are fewer success stories
than there are provinces in Canada: Perrin counts only five
successful prosecutions, which, on closer inspection, hardly
shows the justice system operating at its high-water mark.
Take Imani Nakpangi, who escaped with the lightest of
sentences for trafficking girls on Craigslist. For Samantha, a
14-year-old, he served no prison time at all, because he came
within the loophole of not using threats to safety (6).
This is making direct allusion to the legal challenges that are faced
when it comes to prosecuting who are suspected or believed to have been
involved with human trafficking in Canada. This excerpt is explaining that
these sort of issues are often taken lightly in Canada and there are a lot of
loopholes in the criminal system that allow these people to get away without
severe punitive action from the Justice system. It has been established that
there are often socio-economic and historic oppression for those people that
are affected by an issue that is as severe as human trafficking, while there is
an international component to it, human trafficking dealing with women is
almost always coupled with sexual exploitation and the laws in place are
currently befuddled with loopholes and legal red tape. This is all from a law
and statistics perspective as well as the rights of those involved but there is

also another very important angle to discuss and expound on and that is the
psychological/emotional toll that human trafficking takes on it victims.
The Psychosis and mental baggage of human trafficking
The abuser in human trafficking situation often has to invade the mind
of the victim to be able to plant seeds so that the females succumb and this
comes with isolating the victim and often getting them to see themselves as
the cause of the situation. It is important that people take ownership of their
lives and often stated almost to a fault of being clich is that accepting is
the first step to change. These lines can become mired in examining the low
self-esteem and also the drug use of many victims that throws any rational
thought out the window and also many of the women who are trafficked
often have drug addictions that impair their judgement. In a comprehensive
research case study done on sex trade workers in London, Ontario, the
authors delve into the underlying issues that come with being a sex trade
worker because they are able to do field interviews with many of these
women involved. The report states this paper examines how women in the
sex trade create, negotiate and, in some cases, employ resistance in the
management of different personal and social identities. Their experiences
belie dominant representations of sex workers and flesh out complicated and
often contradictory processes involved in producing the identities required to
organize and make meaning in their lives (Orchard, Farr, Macphail, Wender
& Young 200). This again makes reference to the fact that many of these
people involved with this kind of lifestyle are out of touch with reality and the
often use false beliefs sometimes bordering on delusion to make sense of
their lives and this is also an effect of the illicit drugs that many of these
women are addicted to.

What works? (Prevention or limiting damages in human trafficking)

This article has discussed extensively the effects and the reasons why
human trafficking take place and also explored the psychological and
sometimes drug problems that force people into the lifestyle. There needs to
be a discussion about what works in terms of preventing human trafficking
and looking at case studies on people who are successfully reintegrated with
society after being involved in the sex trade. There are many ways in which
victimization can be normalized for people who are involved in the human
trafficking lifestyle and it is the sense of feeling that being marginalized or
aspiring to better things in life is a dead end and the only way out is by going
through illicit avenues in order to support themselves and support their drug
habits. Prostitution is often referred to as the worlds oldest profession and to
isolate the sex work from the human trafficking component, it is important
to understand that the sex trade is never going to be eradicated and perhaps
it is necessary to have a change in outlook to how to deal with people who
are currently ensnared in the trade. Michael Rekart (2005) states in his
article that Occupational health and safety refers to workplace issues
that can affect employees. These principles are rarely applied to sex
work, despite many occupational exposures, hazards, injuries, and
diseases, including: harassment, violence, musculoskeletal injuries, bladder
problems, stress, depression, alcohol and drug use, respiratory
infections, latex allergy, the removal of children, and death (2129).
These are examples of the daily problems that are real life situations for
those people involved in the sex trade because a lack of regulation as it
regards all these possible ailments causes these women to be at a risk all the
time.
The idea of regulation of the sex trade is welcomed in certain countries
that have legalized prostitution and have laws so that the women feel a
sense of protection but there are often reports that women in such countries
are victimized. The problem with regulation of the sex trade and looking at it

from a legal angle is that many women are recruited at a very young age
and being victimized is a way of life for these women as Shari Narine (2014)
finds A limited survey of experiential Indigenous women conducted by
NWAC produced startling results. Half of those surveyed were first recruited
between the ages of nine and 14. More than 87 per cent had been sexually
abused, raped or molested before they were trafficked; 75 per cent could not
keep any of their earnings; and 85.7 per cent had tried to resist and leave
their situation (10). These example of indigenous women being forced and
also being molested is important and the fact the many of them try to
escape should be noted because between the ages of 9 and 14 these
females have yet to become numb to the pain and are yet to normalize it.
The problem is that one adulthood sets in and they are still stuck in the
throngs of human trafficking and sexual exploitation; then the idea of
creating a complex social identity as previously explored earlier in the
essay becomes a normalized thing and these women start to identify with
being a sex worker as a form of false strength almost a false bravado that
comes out of being marginalized and exploited. The issue of human
trafficking and sexual exploitation within Canada is a heavily researched
topic and there are agencies that are willing to inquest and unveil the real
statistics that often might go under-reported in popular media as the article
by the Indian Life Journal (2013) states The Action Coalition on Human
Trafficking, Alberta's Andrea Burkhart, noted that organizations working to
help victims of trafficking in Canada are also calling for increased victim
support. Recovery is a really long road for victims, and while we are
encouraged at the framework laid out in the Action Plan, we are hopeful that
resources will reach the victims that desperately need them (p. 16). There is
a focus on recovery for those that have already fallen victim to the human
trafficking problem within Canada and there needs to be more of a focus on
preventing people from falling into the trap of human trafficking and
exploitation, in other words there needs to be a discussion on the oppression

and the capital benefits that is a by-product of the sexual exploitation of

these women.
The objectification of women and the culture of rape violence in these
marginalized Canadian communities is a problem but the underlying cause of
all these things again is economic deprivation. In an excerpt from the report
done by Kidd and Loborio in 2011, a sex worker describes the mindset and
living situation; You are so used to being in that lifestyle and you just think
that is all you are meant to be . . . sitting in a crack house or turning a trick.
You dont feel like you are anyone . . . . You feel worthless and shut down to
the world . . . just a dead soul walking amongst people but not a part of
these people. (Toronto Youth) (995). The victimization is a result of lack of
economic research even though the objectification and rape culture is a real
phenomenon, the situation of human trafficking and sexual exploitation in
Canada is often a result of being from poverty stricken background or the
need for money to be able to sustain addictions. It would seem that there is
a tipping point in the human psyche were people go from viewing something
as a vice and anti-social, illegal behavior and then it becomes a way of life
for these individuals who eventually learn to live and revel in such behaviors.
The 2010 RCMP report about human trafficking in Canada, informs that
Within the sex trade, the exploitation of Eastern European, Asian and
African women was independently assessed in order to provide more
comprehensive overviews of each and also to reflect the significant
divergences that influence the criminal activity, such as the victims culture,
modus operandi, and areas of exploitation (7). The women that are
socialized in these geographically areas that are mentioned in the RCMP
report are often coming from a culture of submissiveness to men and many
of these women often trust their significant other in their relationships to be
looking after their best interests and often will give pimps the money that
they make and this is even more problematic because many of these women
never have any material or financial gain. In the case of women who

prostitute themselves, they are sometimes able to secure small financial

gains. In the article by Linda Deriviere (2006), she found that A minority of
sex-trade workers never permanently makes the transition into mainstream
society. Typically, prostitution is not viewed as a lucrative lifetime career
opportunity as individuals experience burnout from a variety of factors
drugs, illness, and violence (375). The psychosis and the stress as a result
of being in such a high-abuse field of work guarantees that these women
often are scarred for life and no monetary compensation or any material gain
is enough to undo the damage to the psyche couple with being objectified
and feeling used.
Human Trafficking is a very broad-scope topic that covers a lot of
different issues and many different people from all walks of life actively fall
victim to human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The marginalization and
historic oppression of certain ethnic groups within Canada such as Aboriginal
peoples and African-Canadians is one of the big issues that allow women
from these ethnic backgrounds to become susceptible to being victimized.
Human trafficking is almost always synonymous with economic deprivation
and dysfunctional family and communal settings play a role as well. In many
of these communities and for some emigrants of under-developed countries,
working is valued of education because there is a need to provide the basics:
food, clothing and shelter therefore young children are funneled into the
work force at a young age to support the family. These children suffer from a
lack of education and are easy prey for those that target young people for
exports to Western countries for sexual or labor exploitation purposes. There
is also a mentality of delusion that comes from normalizing the dysfunction
as well as the use of drugs for escapism amongst those women who are
active members of the sex trade and this often leads to delusions in which
these women detach from reality and believe that they are powerless to
change their conditions. In conclusion, before there can an effective
movement to eradicate human trafficking and sexual exploitation, there

needs to be more research and studies done into the systemic oppression
and the lack of resources in certain communities around Canada and also
there needs to be more outreach work done to reach those that have
detached from the real world and see their vice as a normal way of life.

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