Issue 34.3
Editor: NANCY WRIGHT
4
EDITORIAL
By John Winterdyk, Guest Editor
6
CCJA INTERVIEW WITH JOHN WINTERDYK
By Nancy Wright
11
Non-State Torture Human Trafficking Family Systems: Coming Out Alive
– Normalizing Women’s Survival Responses
By Jeanne Sarson and Linda MacDonald
16
Combatting Human Trafficking in Canada: How Do We Measure Up?
By John Winterdyk
21
Any Progress Yet? The Role of Civil Society in Monitoring Anti-Human
Trafficking Efforts
By Jessica Jahn and Yvon Dandurand
25
Forced Labour in Canada – A Call for Proactive and Collaborative
Police Response
By James Brown
32
Examining Issues and Cases Related to Human and Sex Trafficking
in the Atlantic Region of Canada
By Josephine L. Savarese
37
Thinking Critically About Human Trafficking Claims: Definitional
and Conceptual Challenges/em>
By Ann De Shalit and Emily van der Meulen
41
Canada’s Criminal Code Amendments for Trafficking in Persons
(aka Human Trafficking)
By François Boillat-Madfouny
YOUNG RESEARCHER CONTRIBUTIONS
44
International Cooperation Successfully Stops Prolific Canadian
Child Sex Offender
By Samantha de Vries
48
Sex Trafficking Victims in Canada: The Need for Sector-Specific Resources
By Danika C. DeCarlo-Slobodnik
52
India – The Trafficking of Persons Bill, 2018
By Ankita Chakraborty
55
CCJA AWARDS – NOMINATIONS
57
Abstracts
CCJA INTERVIEW : DR. JOHN WINTERDYK
GUEST EDITOR OF THIS ISSUE
Nancy Wright, Justice Report Editor-In-Chief
Read the interview at www.justicereport.ca
John is specialized in the areas of youth justice, human trafficking (in Canada and internationally), comparative criminal justice and crime prevention, among other research interests. John Winterdyk is a full professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies and former and founding Director of the Centre for Criminology and Justice Research (CCJR) at Mount Royal University in Calgary (AB). He has held various adjunct/visiting professorships in Canada, India, and Namibia, served as a visiting professor at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, as well as carried out research into local beliefs about violence and honour in Sub-Saharan Africa and in India and led multiple criminology/criminal justice study tours to Europe and most recently to China. John has authored and co-authored dozens of articles in a wide array of distinguished journals, including CCJA’s Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, has been guest editor for various publications, such as the International Criminal Justice Review’s special issue on genocide (2009), and co-editor of the European Journal of Criminology’s special issue on human trafficking (2011). CCJA wishes to thank John Winterdyk for his unwavering support of the Justice Report since 2011 when he initiated an agreement for the publication in the Justice Report of the winning essay of an annual undergraduate award in justice studies at MRU. John has also contributed several articles to this publication and acted as guest editor of three issues: Special Issue on Human Trafficking in Canada (34.3, this issue), Special International Issue on Human Trafficking.
NON-STATE TORTURE HUMAN TRAFFICKING FAMILY SYSTEMS: COMING OUT ALIVE – NORMALIZING WOMEN’S SURVIVAL RESPONSES
Jeanne Sarson & Linda MacDonald
Persons Against Non-State Torture website: www.nonstatetorture.org
Co-authors Jeanne Sarson and Linda MacDonald call for criminalization of non-State torture (NST) and share testimonials of two Canadian trafficking victims. Sara was born into a non-State torture human trafficking family system and “trafficked for torturing” from age two until her late twenties when she escaped with the support of Persons Against Non-State Torture. Lynne was trafficked for torture by her husband and his friends for four and a half years. Using official listings of methods used by State torturers, the authors demonstrate that torture committed by private individuals (i.e., non-State torturers) compares to that committed by State torturers. The authors report sharing this testimonial witnessing while testifying in favour of a private members bill (C-242) to criminalize NST; the Bill failed because the existing offense of aggravated assault was deemed sufficient. Aside from giving victims the legal right to equitable access to justice in Canada and upholding the right to not be subjected to torture, the authors argue that criminalization of NST is also needed to eliminate popular, social, and political denial. Sarson and MacDonald also discuss survival mechanisms (dissociative distancing) as post-traumatic stress responses that deadened Lynne’s and Sara’s sensory awareness and allowed them to both come out alive.
COMBATTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN CANADA: HOW DO WE MEASURE UP?
John Winterdyk
Full Professor, Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies, Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB.
John Winterdyk presents a historical overview of human trafficking and examines the relative success of Canada’s efforts to combat TIP (aka HT) since the ratification of the Palermo Protocol. Situating his assessment within the context of the four pillars of priority enshrined in the Palermo Protocol: Prosecution, Protection, Prevention, and Partnership, Winterdyk calls for a ‘pardadigm shift’ in Canada’s response to TIP by way of a fifth P (Participation).
ANY PROGRESS YET? THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN MONITORING ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING EFFORTS
Jessica Jahn & Yvon Dandurand
International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, Vancouver (BC).
A window of opportunity to improve the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime’s Trafficking in Persons Protocol has been opened by the recent establishment of a review mechanism, which aims to help states gain credible insight into their respective implementations of the Protocol and the Convention and bring a higher level of accountability into the global and national anti-human trafficking effort. The authors identify the participation of civil society organizations, such as non-governmental organizations, academia, community groups, and others as key. They suggest that Canada can help show the way forward by doing far more to engage civil society in the review process than is required.
FORCED LABOUR IN CANADA – A CALL FOR PROACTIVE AND COLLABORATIVE POLICE RESPONSE
James Brown
Executive Director of the Canadian based Global Resource Epicenter Against Human Trafficking (GREAT)
Although Canada has had a few successful labour trafficking convictions since the introduction of anti-human trafficking laws in 2010, the overall response by police services has been limited and needs to be expanded through enhanced leadership, training and community relationships. Fortunately, there are many global models that we can look to for good practices that can help us identify opportunities for refocusing our community safety efforts that may lead to greater community collaboration as well as improved community well-being.
EXAMINING ISSUES AND CASES RELATED TO HUMAN AND SEX TRAFFICKING IN THE ATLANTIC REGION OF CANADA
Josephine L. Savarese
Associate Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick.
This article investigates issues and cases related to human and sex trafficking in the Maritime provinces (i.e., New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island). While the emphasis in this article is regional, the problems discussed are a microcosm of a global phenomenon. Commentators describe human trafficking as one of the world’s fastest growing crimes despite actions to reduce trafficking and in the face of efforts to ensure that trafficking does not remain a largely hidden problem.
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING CLAIMS: DEFINITIONAL AND CONCEPTUAL CHALLENGES
Ann De Shalit & Emily van der Muelen
Ryerson University
The way human trafficking is being defined and conceptualized in Canada includes a conflation of trafficking with sex work. This conflation results in false assertions about the size and scope of the problem; increased appeals to criminal justice interventions; and deflection from labour and human rights abuses in industries other than the sex trade. The authors maintain that such definitional issues skew funding priorities. In turn, police services and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) frequently rely on misguided trafficking claims in order to secure much-needed government resources, thereby perpetuating widely discredited narratives about sex work and migration. The authors also suggest that frontline organizations and agencies must seriously consider the voices of migrants and sex workers, who are often the unsuspecting targets of morally-driven anti-trafficking efforts.
CANADA’S CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENTS FOR TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (AKA HUMAN TRAFFICKING)
François Boillat-Madfouny
Prosecutor (City of Montreal), Graduate Student (Faculty of Law – Université de Montréal);
Policy Review Committee Member (CCJA), CCJA Director (Representative of Québec)
This concise overview of Canada’s implementation of the UN Palermo Protocol on Human Trafficking explores amendments to the Criminal Code with respect to trafficking in persons (TIP, aka HT). The author reviews the new provisions and how they have been interpreted in Canadian criminal jurisprudence so far. In this vein, the article explains the establishment of guilt (Actus reus and Mens rea) and Canada’s broad approach of putting the notion of exploitation at the centre of its TIP legislation. The author also offers some clarifications on the invalidity of victim pre-knowledge/consent and the inclusion of transborder trafficking in Canada’s TIP laws.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION SUCCESSFULLY STOPS PROLIFIC CANADIAN CHILD SEX OFFENDER
Samantha de Vries
PhD Student, Simon Fraser University
This article is not about human trafficking but illustrates the importance of international cooperation in a world increasingly connected by migration, travel, and the internet. De Vries highlights how extraterritorial cooperation made possible by treaty agreements and extraterritorial criminal legislation enabled Canada to work with Thailand and other international partners to identify, apprehend, and convict the infamous Canadian child sex offender Christopher Paul Neil (also known as Mr. Swirl, Swirl Face, or Vico). Despite successful convictions in Thailand and Canada, Neil escaped facing charges in Cambodia due to a supposed lack of communication during the investigation and in Vietnam due to an apparent lack of political will.
SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIMS IN CANADA: THE NEED FOR SECTOR-SPECIFIC RESOURCES
Danika C. DeCarlo-Slobodnik
Undergrad Student, Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies, Mount Royal University (Calgary, Alberta)
This article explores the scope of human trafficking within Canada and internationally. Available data shows that women make up the highest proportion of victims trafficked for sex, and that this crime is currently the most profitable and common form of exploitation. Respective definitions of sex work and sex trafficking are necessary to ensure that victims are better identified and thus more able to receive the support and resources they need. Both preventative and responsive approaches are necessary to address the far-reaching potential for future exploitation and to support the many victims that are currently being exploited. Although more research is needed, trauma-informed support and safe housing are primary needs for trafficked women in Canada and internationally.
INDIA – THE TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS BILL, 2018
Ankita Chakraboty
Ph.D. Scholar, Rajiv Gandhi School of IP Law, IIT Kharagpur, India
This article, by India’s Ankita Chakraborty, is not specific to Canada, but offers some important lessons for Canada’s effort through an insightful analysis and critique of her country’s new Human Trafficking Bill. Generally speaking, Chakraborty reports that the Bill includes several new and progressive initiatives but, among other critiques, retains the age-old ‘raid-to-rescue model’ wherein police (along with NGOs) engage in pre-planned and organized raids for the rescue and subsequent rehabilitation of trafficked victims.
Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the Association’s views, but are included to encourage reflection and action on the criminal justice system throughout Canada.