To spread awareness and help our supporters better understand human trafficking, with a focus on sex trafficking, we at We’re Here You Canada wrote a blog post to explain this complex phenomenon.

WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?

Human trafficking is the “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons by improper means (such as force, abduction, fraud, or coercion) for an improper purpose including forced labour or sexual exploitation” (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2026).

Globally, there are an estimated 40.4 million human trafficking victims; however, experts in the field believe that there are significantly more unreported cases (Cameron et al., 2020). Human trafficking is the second most profitable criminal activity industry and is growing due to it being viewed as less “dangerous” for the perpetrators than drug trafficking (Cameron et al., 2020).

HOW DOES HUMAN TRAFFICKING OCCUR?

There are three “pathways” in which individuals become trafficked:

1. Force: Can include:

· Kidnapping

· Beatings

· Restraint

· Sexual assault

· Confinement

2. Fraud: Can include:

· Tricking an individual into paying for forged documents, travel documents, and work visas by promising a false contract of employment upon arrival

· Leading individuals to believe they will be working in a legal establishment for fair pay

3. Coercion: Can include:

· Threats of harm to an individual

· Physical restraint of an individual

· Threats towards loved ones

· Threats about telling loved ones what the trafficked individual is doing (i.e., telling them they are a sex worker) (Waite, 2026)

FACT: Coercion and fraud are the most common ways that victims are recruited.

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING?

There are many different forms of human trafficking:

· Sexual exploitation

· Sex tourism

· Forced labour

· Debt bondage

· Domestic servitude

· Organ removal

· Forced begging

· Child soldiers

· Forced marriage/mail-order brides (Waite, 2026)

In this article, we will focus on sexual exploitation, as it is the most relevant topic in terms of We’re Here For You Canada’s mission. However, we do acknowledge the equal importance and urgency of all different forms of human trafficking.

Sexual Exploitation:

Sex trafficking is “a form of human trafficking that involves recruiting, moving, or holding victims for sexual exploitation purposes,” (Government of Canada, 2026).

Sex trafficking is estimated to account for 79% of human trafficking cases globally (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2024), and women and girls comprise 99% of sex trafficking victims, reflecting the extremely gendered nature of sex trafficking (Cameron et al., 2020). More specifically, girls with intellectual disabilities are at a heightened risk of becoming sex trafficking victims, according to Nichols & Heil (2022), and may be victimized by family members, guardians, caregivers, or individuals posing as friends/boyfriends.

In Canada specifically, between 2014 and 2024, there were over 5000 human trafficking cases reported between 2014 and 2024 (Sutton-Preddie, 2025). It is, however, important to note that these police-reported cases likely only represent a fraction of the total cases that take place, and continue to take place, in Canada, as hesitancy to report these sorts of crimes runs rampant, particularly among members of marginalized groups who may have historically strained and unjust relationships with institutional organizations.

According to a report from The Exodus Road, a global non-profit focused on combatting human trafficking, sexual exploitation is the main form of exploitation detected in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Central and South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and East Asia and the Pacific (McGeough & Van, 2023).

SOME QUICK FACTS:

• Sex trafficking does not need to involve cross-border movements (Safety in Canada, 2023)
• Not all sex work is trafficking (Safety in Canada, 2023)
• Brothels in Canada can sometimes be disguised as a “massage parlour” (Ted X Talks, 2020).
• Any minor engaging in commercial sex is automatically considered to be a victim of human trafficking, regardless of the use of force, fraud, or coercion (Waite, 2026)

Sex trafficking fundamentally violates human rights and harms survivors/victims immeasurably, including physically, mentally, and emotionally, and may result in substance use disorders, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, physical

injuries, and far more (Gagnon, 2020; Greenbaum et al., 2017; Koegler et al., 2022).

WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO SEX TRAFFICKING?

A big contributor to human trafficking is the same gender stereotypes, social and cultural tolerances, and beliefs that contribute to gender-based violence as a whole:

1. Violence against women: Gendered masculine bodies harming female bodies as a way to dominate and control women

Includes physical, emotional, financial, sexual, and psychological violence

2. Commercialization of women’s bodies: Female bodies are objectified and commodified for the male gaze
3. Feminization of migration: International migration of women as a means of survival under the promise of better being able to provide for themselves and their families (Waite, 2009)

Another significant contributor to human trafficking is poverty.

FACT: Women and children make up 70% of the world’s poor, with single mothers facing the highest risk of poverty (Canadian Women’s Foundation, 2025).

FACT: Men at risk of becoming human trafficking victims often come from marginalized, vulnerable populations (e.g., undocumented immigrants, runaways, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and having a lower SES).

Gagnon (2020) reported anecdotal findings that sex trafficking victims in Nova Scotia, particularly those who are children and youth, are disproportionately from African Nova Scotian and Indigenous communities, a finding that is mirrored across Canada, and also encompasses new immigrants and migrants and youth belonging to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community (Covenant House Toronto, 2026).

As briefly discussed above, Indigenous women in Canada are at augmented risk of becoming sex trafficking victims due to systemic failures and marginalization,

including gender and racial discrimination, increased rates of abuse (both physical and sexual) due to intergenerational trauma from residential schools, unemployment and lack of viable economic and occupational opportunities, substance use disorders (also linked to colonization and residential schools), high rates of mental health challenges, etc. (Legal Aid Saskatchewan, 2024). Louie (2018) identified nine common pathways that contribute to the sexual exploitation of Indigenous women, including:

· Sexual abuse

· Transition from their Indigenous reserves

· Gross systemic overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in prisons

· Prevalence of violence in communities due to institutional and systemic failures

· Substance abuse

· Family disorganization (due to systemic colonial failures and pressures)

· Family in the sex trade and poverty (due to systemic injustices that result in lesser employment opportunities for Indigenous women and girls)

· Poor relationship with social services

HOW DOES TECHNOLOGY CONTRIBUTE TO SEX TRAFFICKING?

Raets & Janssens (2021) posited that the sex industry drove technological advancements that are commonly used by the majority of the population, including database management systems, search engines, and accelerated credit card transactions. These authors also assert that the Internet is a prime method of recruitment for traffickers, particularly dating apps and online chat rooms. In fact, information shared online, and digital communication between strangers and “friends” of friends has greatly lowered previous geographical and societal barriers to trafficking (Raets & Janssen, 2021). The authors also shared how digital sex trafficking has enabled traffickers to victimize trafficked individuals over and over and has enabled greater power and control of traffickers over victims due to the imminent threat of sharing and exposing these explicit digital materials to friends and family members (Raets & Janssen, 2021).

Pararche (2023) points out that the media rarely accurately reflects the reality of sex trafficking. Victims are often portrayed in popular media as Eastern European women who are conventionally attractive and are under the control of foreign traffickers. This misconstrual of reality results in the spreading of misinformation and misunderstanding amongst the general public, and even among law enforcement officials and service sector employees.

WHAT ARE THE WARNING SIGNS OF SEX TRAFFICKING?

Warning signs of sex trafficking include:

· Subtle forms of control

· Always being under supervision

· Having personal belongings and identification go missing/taken away

· Substance misuse

· Self-harming behaviour

· Changes in physical appearance (Public Safety Canada, 2026)

There is no “perfect victim”, but some common characteristics of victims/survivors of sex trafficking include:

· People without positive, strong relationships with friends and family

· Lower SES

· Having previously survived abuse

· Being marginalized by systemic racism

· Gender inequity

· Colonization (Gagnon, 2020; Public Health and Safety Canada, 2026)

Let us stand together to put an end towards sex trafficking, and all forms of human trafficking, and support survivors of all forms of trafficking and intentional violence.