After reading Julian Sher's article "
Sex Trafficking: A National Disgrace" which pointed out the ignorance of Canadians to this on-going problem that occurs in their own backyards, it was clear to me that, this, like any other national issue that constitutes a "social problem" has the federal government looking the other way. Julian had raised the points that a crime such as this is handled too leniently compared to the
United States which has task forces specially trained to handle crimes involving the prostitution of immigrants, children, and women but why doesn't
Canada? Does living here somehow mean that just because we free and live in a well developed society that these sort of things don't happen here?
Obviously, we'd be pretty naive and stupid to think that if it were the case. It would be like assuming something doesn't happen behind a closed door. But why doesn't anyone do anything about it? Because, we're a society built on the idea that we're safe, living in a country where things like the sex trade isn't portrayed on the news every night, we're not haggled in the streets being asked if we want erotic massages or to "be loved long time." Instead, we believe awful crimes such as these go on in far away countries and only hear stories. There was even one Canadian named Benjamin Perrin, a faculty of law at the
University of
British Columbia and a notable hero acting towards helping sex trade victims and putting an end to the sex trade itself in
Columbia was unaware of the crime back home until he recently heard of the sex trade in his
Calgary hometown. His book, "Invisible Chains" from which Sher bases his facts and article from, aims at awareness for this ongoing issue that is being ignored.
The fact is, these people come to
Canada or move to another city in
Canada looking for a new life but are swindled and manipulated by the people who claimed to have helped them achieve that goal. These, like the youth of the skinhead culture, are misguided and unwanted. With little self-esteem and an authority/parent figure, these youth eventually feel like they belong within a sub-culture such as the sex trade where they rely on their pimps to take care of them. It is because of this that these youth and immigrants feel they have no choice because they have been coerced and threatened into staying in business.
I think that as Canadians living with the issue for such an extended period has only added to the ignorance that plays a major role in the sex traffic culture. The fact that this sort of thing goes unnoticed everyday in the city streets is saying something about Canadian culture itself. I don't believe that people are accepting of atrocities such as this but rather accept the idea that it simply cannot happen here. Well, it simply does, and there's very little that's being done about it. Like any sub-culture within a society, there are numerous factors and similarities that bring groups of people together for a reason whether or not they do it willingly. At the same time, the sub-culture of sex trafficking has very different motives than any other sub-culture that we have looked at. It is cruel, immoral, and extremely unfortunate that this sort of crime is not well-aware. The sex trafficking sub-culture of
Canada is massive and country-wide. Canadians are sold for money online and in-person and yet, the one's who are victimized are subjecting themselves to this continually because of a sought after solution as to who's going to look after them. After years of ongoing sex trading on Canadian soil, it is time that people not only stop at awareness, but take action against the underground sex trade in
Canada. We can thank authors and activists like Benjamin Perrin for helping us do that.
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