Human trafficking awareness events coming to Akwesasne, Cornwall, and region
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AKWESASNE — One of the strongest voices in the region on anti-human trafficking awareness is pleased momentum is building to continue conversations and education on the subject.
Several major awareness events are on the horizon, and the Akwesasne Family Wellness Program, where Pat Dussault, a retired OPP constable is an anti-human trafficking liaison, is partnering to present one of them, Sex Trafficking 101 at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort on Feb. 22 – National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
“The awareness was lacking for several years,” said Dussault, taking about one of the many effects on the pandemic. “A girl who was 12 or 13 (in 2020) and is 15 or 16 now and could be a target of traffickers, well, it’s very possible she and her family isn’t aware of the problem.”
Dussault pointed out Ontario has over one-third of Canada’s overall population, but two-thirds of the cases of human trafficking occur in the province.
“And eastern Ontario is a big hub,” Dussault said.
The Sex Trafficking 101 event is being hosted by the AFWP in partnership with the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, and topics will include indicators of sex trafficking, and the dangers of social media including fake ‘apps’ used by young people to go undetected. It’s a free event is open to all community members, who can attend either the 1-4 p.m. session, or from 5-8 p.m. There’ll be 125 seats available per session, on a first-come, first-served basis.
The next day, on Feb. 23, a What’s my role? Human Trafficking Community Building Workshop by Timea’s Cause Inc. will be held at the Cornwall Golf and Country Club. The target audience for the one-day community mobilization workshop is law enforcement and social service providers, and it’ll be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The event is being put on by the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, and will feature Timea Nagy, the CEO and founder of Timea’s Cause Inc. Nagy immigrated to Canada from Budapest, Hungary, in 1998, and she’s a human-trafficking survivor, author, speaker, and social advocate.
Her nightmare unfolded in Toronto the year she arrived from Hungary, looking for meaningful employment in Toronto. Instead, she wound up being held hostage for what she called three terrifying months at the hands of traffickers and was forced to work in the sex industry.
“She’s a great advocate,” Dussault said of the founder Walk with Me, a non-profit organization that assists victims of human trafficking and law enforcement agencies; Nagy has provided training to numerous agencies in Canada, the U.S., and Europe – reaching over 10,000 law-enforcement officers within sex-crime units and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
Workshop organizers say the anticipated outcomes include providing specialized training designed for front-line workers from all sectors, and building a community-based victim service response explicitly modelled for victims, using existing services, and resources.
Also, regionally on Feb. 23-24, in Ottawa’s Vanier neighbourhood, A New Day Youth and Adult Services is presenting the first annual Traffic Jam Human Trafficking Conference, a two-day event focusing on navigating the intersections of human trafficking. Dussault called A New Day Youth and Adult Services a great partner in the overall to support victims of trafficking and to promote awareness.
“It’s the only place in Ontario where we have that (type of service), and I’m just really happy they’re (holding a conference),” Dussault said.
Said A New Day founder/board chair Jodi Mosley: “We need to disrupt the business of human trafficking. Human Trafficking is horrific and it violates every aspect of an individual’s human rights.”
Awareness efforts in the region did begin to pick up last fall, including when a two-day conference was held at the Best Western Parkway Inn in Cornwall, and included presentations made by AMPS, a survivor of sex trafficking, and a former prosecutor.
The Ontario government says over 70 per cent of human trafficking victims identified by police are under the age of 25, that the average age of recruitment into sex trafficking is 13 years old.
More information on local awareness events can be made by calling the AFWP at 613-937-4322, or visiting the AFWP page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/mca.afwp).
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