Photo: Hope Restored Canada
By Danielle Dufour
There is no prejudice when it comes to human trafficking, it can happen to anyone.
Sex trafficking is when someone is controlled, threated or manipulated into exchanging sexual services for money while being controlled by a trafficker. This manipulation and control can occur online or in person, often where the predator targets a person by gaining their trust and exploits the person’s physical or emotional vulnerabilities, and either coerces or forces them into selling sex.
In Canada, 50 per cent of trafficker’s victims are Indigenous, despite making up only four per cent of the total population.
Support for victims in Saskatchewan who have been sexually exploited or human trafficked can be found through Hope Restored Canada, a non-profit organization in Saskatoon.
At one time the focus was on how to rescue these individuals, but rescue is a moment not a solution.
“How we respond, we support individuals where they are,” said Kendra Mazer the Executive Director of Hope Restored. “No referral is required.”
They provide a safe place for survivors seeking support while exiting situations of exploitation and trafficking, with immediate refuge from their perpetrators.
“This looks like real tangible supports like housing, outreach services and programing,” said Kendra Mazer the Executive Director of Hope Restored.
With a complex history of gender discrimination, racism, and colonization, many women, newcomers, non-binary and Two Spirit people find themselves in the sex trade.
“A lot of them are suffering from challenges with many systems, so it might look like not having enough money to be housed, not being able to support their families and access resources that they need, medical care, any sort of care to look after their physical well-being, even lack of transportation,” said Mazer.
This includes the impacts of gender-based violence and those living in situations where they’re exposed to high rates of physical and emotional abuse.
Hope Restored supports individuals by providing safe housing and connecting them with community partners to access mental health and addiction support services. They also provide access to life skill building and ways to explore educational opportunities.
At present they have six individuals in the housing program and 35 in the outreach program.
“We can arrange transportation of folks from outside of the Saskatoon area,” said Mazer. “When people are returning to community that have been trafficked outside of our borders, we can support those individuals as well.”
Mazer said their trauma informed response system, “is meeting folks where they’re at, making sure that we’re giving them the tangible supports that they need and not telling them what they need, tell me about your goals.”
Understanding exploitation means knowing that it is a pattern, not a one-time event. Coercion and vulnerability evolve over time. Survival strategies are often misunderstood, when an individual can not afford housing or basic necessities. Exiting is rarely linear and the victim may not be ready to leave their situation out of fear or lack of support.
Hope Restored Canada relies heavily on support from the community.
For more information or to support Hope Restored Canada visit: https://hoperestoredcanada.org/
Support for victims and survivors, contact the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline number: 1-833-900-1010