 New Book - "Invisible Chains: Canada's Underground World of Human Trafficking"
Invisible Chains: Canada's Underground World of Human Trafficking is being published this Fall by Penguin Group
(Canada) and is the first book on the problem in Canada. Based on empirical research, it includes chapters on Canada as a
transit country to the United States and global best practices. The hardcover is now available for pre-ordering online.
Invisible Chains is the culmination of a three-year research project by University of British Columbia law professor
Benjamin Perrin, funded by the Maytree Foundation and supported by law students in the UBC Human Trafficking Working Group.
It is a shocking exposé and impassioned call to action to end human trafficking in Canada. It will be officially launched
in October 2010 with a national abolition campaign.
Click here to pre-order on Amazon
Click here to join the Invisible Chains Facebook group
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Just outside Toronto,
a 14-year-old Canadian girl was auctioned on the internet for men to purchase by the hour. A young woman was taken by slave
traders from an African war zone to Edmonton to earn greater profits by exploiting her in prostitution. A gang called Wolfpack
recruited teenagers in Quebec and sold them for sex to high-profile men in the community.
The global problem
of human trafficking is only beginning to be recognized in Canada, even though it has been hidden in plain sight. In Invisible
Chains, Benjamin Perrin, an award-winning law professor and policy expert, exposes cases of human trafficking, recording in-depth
interviews with people on the front lines--police officers, social workers, and the victims themselves--and bringing to light
government records released under access-to-information laws.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Benjamin
Perrin is an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law and a leading expert on human trafficking.
As senior policy adviser to the minister of citizenship and immigration, and a witness before several parliamentary committees,
he has advised the federal government on this issue. He has also worked overseas with victims and assisted in the prosecution
of child sex offenders as executive director of The Future Group, a non-governmental organization that he founded in 2000
to combat human trafficking.
In 2009, Prof. Perrin was recognized as a "hero acting to end modern-day
slavery" in the U.S. State Department's Trafficking in Persons report.
Canada's First Statistics on Foreign Human Trafficking Victims
Benjamin
Perrin, founder of The Future Group and UBC researcher, has compiled statistics on human trafficking says Canada must do more
to help victims and bring traffickers to justice. Benjamin used documents obtained by access-to-information laws to identify
31 cases of human trafficking flagged by immigration officials between 2006 and 2008. The top-four sources of victims were
Romania, the Philippines, Moldova and China. These are the first national statistics on international human trafficking to
become available since Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) began flagging cases in its databases in May 2006, after introducing
measures to protect foreign nationals exploited in the sex trade and in forced labour. At the same time, they are believed
to only represent a fraction of the trafficking victims, who are typically brought to Canada to work in the sex trade or forced
labour.
For additional media coverage related
to this release, feel free to check out the following:
'Research finds 31 human trafficking cases over two years, no convictions', Canadian Press, October 28, 2008
'China tops human trafficking offenders' list in Canada', Suzanne Fournier, Canwest News Service, October, 28, 2008
'UBC Legal Expert Releases Canada’s First Stats on Foreign Human Trafficking Victims', University of British Columbia
Media Release, October 28, 2008
Combating Human Trafficking: Co-Operating to Build Best Practices in BC and Beyond
The
BC Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons will be holding it first conference on October 29th and 30th. The goal of the conference
is to provide a forum for those focused on the issue of human trafficking to identify best practices, discuss challenges and
increase knowledge in order to increase coordination and cooperation among stakeholders. The Future Group's own Benjamin Perrin
will be acting as a presenter on Canadian Perspectives on Human Trafficking. Stay tuned for the developments from this conference.
'Conference Targets Human Trafficking', Kristen Thompson, Metro Vancouver, October 29, 2008
In July 2007, the Office to Combat
Trafficking in Persons (OCTIP) opened its doors in Victoria, BC to assume responsibility for the overall coordination of British
Columbia's strategy to addres human trafficking.
The Calgary Herald Features The Future Group
A
recent news article featured the issue of child sex tourism in a recent article. The piece discussed the issue in Cambodia,
but brought light to the fact that many organizations, The Future Group included, continue to bring hope and a new future
to victims of this crime. To check out this article, click on the following link:
"A Hotel with Heart and Soul", Michael Wuitchuk, Calgary Herald, October, 3, 2008
NEW - Report Find Human Trafficking Risk at 2010 Olympics
The Future
Group’s 25-page report entitled “Faster, Higher, Stronger: Preventing Human
Trafficking at the 2010 Olympics” outlines measures taken by host countries of recent international sporting events
to prevent human trafficking, and makes recommendations in preparation for the 2010 Olympics.
The Future Group's Press Release: Report Finds Human Trafficking Risk at 2010 Olympics
"Faster, Higher, Stronger: Preventing Human Trafficking at the 2010 Olympics"
Media Coverage on the Issue of Child Sex Tourism
With the recent manhunt and subsequent arrest of a BC man in an overseas sex case, the spotlight has been put on the
issue of child sex tourism. As such, The Future Group's founder, Benjamin Perrin, was looked to for his expertise, providing
the public with insight on child sex tourism and related laws. It also drew eyes to another TFG project, YouWillBeCaught.com where the public can help combat child sex tourism and trafficking across the globe through the reporting of anonymous
tips.
The following is a selection relevant articles:
Federal Government Moves to End Canada's
Complicity in Human Trafficking
The Future Group commends the federal government for moving forward towards ensurin Canada is not a haven for human traffickers
and the exploitation of women in the underground sex trade.
On May 16, 2007, Immigration Minister Diane Finley introduced an amendment to the Immigration and Refugee Protection
Act (IRPA) that would give authority to the Minister to instruct immigration officers to prevent women from being exploited
through work permits as exotic dancers.
Canada's First Federal Budget
Fighting Human Trafficking
The Future Group applauds Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, and Canada's New Government for making a historic first
effort to devote funds to combating human trafficking in the country. Six million dollars in funding will allow concrete steps
to be taken to begin to protect victims and prosecute offenders.
In delivering his budget speech to the House of Commons on March 19th, Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance said: "Mr. Speaker,
I’ve spoken about building a better Canada and a stronger Canada. These alone are insufficient. We must also make Canada
safer. Canada is admired the world over as a safe, law-abiding society. We must keep it that way. . . . We are also providing
funding to protect our most precious asset—our children—from online sexual exploitation and to assist investigators
in suspected cases of human trafficking."
BUDGET 2007 (excerpt)
Protecting Children From Sexual Exploitation
Children are Canada’s most precious asset but are also the most vulnerable members of society. All of our children
deserve to feel safe and secure. As a nation, Canada has a responsibility to ensure that children are nurtured and well protected,
especially from the most heinous of crimes, sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Canada has the laws in place to combat this problem. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also houses two centres to protect
children from on-line sexual exploitation and to assist investigators in suspected cases of human trafficking. For these tools
to be truly effective in reducing the number of incidents of sexual exploitation and trafficking in children, resources must
be available to increase the number of investigations and to successfully prosecute offenders.
Budget 2007 proposes to invest an additional $6 million per year for the protection of children. These funds will be
allocated to strengthen current activities in combating the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. The funding will
ensure that those who commit these heinous offences are brought to justice. . . .
Canadians want to live in safe and secure communities. Budget 2007 proposes important measures to help prevent crime
and ensure public safety, including: . . . $6 million a year to combat the sexual exploitation of children and human trafficking.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Winners of Inaugural
Sevey-Rattan Freedom Award
The 2007 recipients of the annual award
are the Hon. Monte Solberg, P.C., M.P., and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law Anti-Trafficking Working Group
The Future Group's Sevey-Rattan Freedom Award Backgrounder
The Future Group Applauds Report,
"Turning Outrage into Action to Address Trafficking for the Purposes of Sexual Exploitation"
On February 27th, MPs tabled a parliamentary
report from the Standing Committee on the Status of Women on human trafficking. This report, containing 33 recommendations,
could be used as a base for a national strategy to combat trafficking in persons.
Related Media Coverage:
It must be noted that the motion to condemn human trafficking has been accepted in Parliament, recognized
as the "dark underbelly" of global trade.
Canadian Charged in Cambodia on Attempted
Rape
The Future Group recently received report
of a Canadian allegedly sexually abusing a 13 year-old beggar in his apartment.
See the following for further details:
Canadian Charged with Attempted Rape of Girl, 13 - Saing Soenthrith and James Welsh, The Cambodia Daily,
The Future Group Applauds House
of Commons Motion to Combat Human Trafficking
The Future Group applauds a landmark motion
tabled on December 8th, 2006 in the House of Commons by Joy Smith, MP, calling on the federal government to adopt a comprehensive
strategy to combat the trafficking of persons. Such a commitment is long overdue and urgently needed to head off the expected
explosion of human trafficking in thelead up to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Presentation Made to the Standing
Committee on the Status of Women on Pressing Need for Canada's Human Trafficking Repsonse
On
November 21st, 2006, Ben Perrin, Advisor to Board of The Future Group sat as a witness to the Standing Committee of the Status
of Women who is focussing their research on Human Trafficking.
During
his presentation and the question period, Ben spoke of how Canada has been playing catch up when it comes to combatting
human trafficking and, made significant recommendations about the urgency for Canada to get back on track prior to the Vancouver
2010 Olympics.
"Our country must turn the tide against this modern-day slave trade by 2010 at the latest," said Perrin. "The
Vancouver Olympic Games need to be remembered for showcasing Canada’s best to the world, not as a flashpoint for the
abuse of human trafficking victims."
"Olympics a Magnet for Sex Traffickers: Activists Warn of 'Explosion' of Illicit Trade in Women", Bruce Campion Smith - Toronto
Star
Brief of The Future Group to Standing Committee on the Status of Women
Brief No. 2 of The Future Group: Recommendations on Proposal for National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking
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Report on Cambodian Street-Based
Child Exploitation Released
Action
Pour Les Enfants (APLE) commissioned this report with the goal of providing further details on street based child exploitation
in Cambodia (specifically profiling the areas of Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville) by focussing on the victims of this abuse.
The report provides insight on which children are becoming victims and what factors influence their exposure street-based
child exploitation. Click on the following link to download the report.
Street-Based
Child Exploitation in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville: A Profile of Victims |
"Police
Chief Jamie Graham will likely send one of the department's top sex crime investigators to Cambodia for up to three
months to gather intelligence on Canadian pedophiles preying on children as young as five years old." This reported
by Mike Howell, with the Vancouver Courier, as the police chief recognizes the need for a move to track Canadian pedophiles
oversees. The Chief's actions comes in response to information from Tom McCluskie, in charge of department's major crime
section, who was in Cambodia in May to present an award to Cambodian National Police for their help in the prosecution of
Donald Bakker.
Welcome Home to Treva Braun, Jessica
Singer and Meera Bai and Congratulations on a Job Well Done.
The Future Group has created, facilitated, trained and supported a local communication and action network on the
issue of child domestic workers in Cameroon.
The
project, named "CDWatch", has been founded by TFG and four local partners - Association Enfants Jeunes et Avenir - (Yaounde), Africa Women's Association (Yaounde), Serve the Orphans Foundation
(Yaounde and Ndu, NWP) and United Action for Children (Buea,
SWP). The principal aim of the network throughout the pilot stage has been to prevent the trafficking and exploitation of
child domestic workers through awareness-raising education, health sector training to identify and assist victims, and simple,
logical child monitoring actions taken at the community level.
Toronto Star - Jul 2/06
Thomas S. Axworthy, chairman of the Centre for the Study of Democracy, Queen's University, and co-chairman of the Liberal
Party Renewal Commission, acknowledged the need for Canada to become a leader on stopping
sexual slavery, and encouraged national support for domestic NGOs like The Future Group focussed on combatting human
trafficking. This was communicated through a piece covering Germany's
attractiveness to human traffickers, specifically in relation to the recent World Cup.
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