Bradford group hosting public forum on human trafficking

On Thursday, May 4, the Catholic Women's League (CWL) of the Holy Martyrs of Japan Parish in Bradford, will host an evening on the difficult subject of human trafficking in the area. This talk is a social justice initiative of the CWL.

The event will take place in the large parish hall, 167 Essa St., at 7 p.m. Detective Constable Holly Murray, and Detective Constable Dan Raymond from the South Simcoe Police Service will speak on this topic to heighten awareness of and educate the community about this crime.

Cecilia Podger, a member of the Holy Martyrs of Japan Parish CWL, said that as she is learning more, it is the way victims are lured into these situations that is most upsetting.

She has grandchildren who are in their teens, and she wants them to be aware this occurs, and how it occurs. She hopes the presentation from the South Simcoe police will inform as many people as possible. The CWL chose the parish hall for this talk because it will accommodate large numbers.

Podger really wants the community to know about this opportunity and has endeavoured to inform other church groups and the public at large.

“Human trafficking, or trafficking in persons, is often considered a modern day form of slavery,” says the Public Safety of Canada website.

“The victims, who are mostly women and children, are deprived of their normal lives and compelled to provide labour or sexual services, through a variety of coercive practices, often for the direct profit of their perpetrators,” the site says.

It goes on to explain the difference between human trafficking and human smuggling including that human smuggling generally involves the consent of the person smuggled. “Trafficked persons have either never consented or their consent has been rendered meaningless by the trafficker's exploitative conduct”.

In 2020, Statistics Canada reported 3,541 incidents of human trafficking had been reported to police services in Canada between 2011-2021. Twenty-four percent of victims of police-reported human trafficking were aged 17 and younger, 45% between 18-24, and 21% between 25-34.

Because of the secret nature of the crime and hesitancy from victims and witnesses to contact police, it is difficult to know the full extent of the crime.

To learn more about this issue, and its occurrence locally, the CWL invites you to join them in the Holy Martyrs of Japan parish hall at 7 p.m. Thursday evening. This is a free community event; light refreshments will be served.