Human Trafficking – APH036
Reviewed/Revised: March 2022
PURPOSE
Human trafficking is a hidden crime and involves the recruitment, transportation, harbouring and/or exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of a person in order to exploit that person, typically through sexual exploitation or forced labour (commonly referred to as sex or labour trafficking). There is no universal experience of human trafficking, and it is known to result in severe trauma for survivors, who may have non-linear healing journeys as they work to rebuild their lives.
With the rise of sex trafficking in Ontario, all educational stakeholders, including youth, parents, educators, administration and support staff can play significant roles in both response and prevention. Announced in 2021, the Ministry of Education mandated all school boards in Ontario to develop anti-sex trafficking protocols as part of PPM 166 to respond appropriately and implement prevention initiatives. There is an urgency to this work, with cases increasing as a result of COVID-19 and intensified online engagement from youth. Decolonizing our approaches to preventing human trafficking are paramount, as Indigenous and Metis women and girls are disproportionately represented in human trafficking victims, making up nearly 50%, despite being only 4% of the overall Canadian female population.
School boards however cannot act alone. Cross-sector collaboration with community, child and youth services, Indigenous, gender-based violence and women’s organizations, and police are crucial in addressing this issue holistically. This protocol articulates the role of educational stakeholders in responding effectively with youth who make disclosures, and to take proactive roles in encouraging students to come forward. Schools are uniquely positioned to redress some of the risk factors of sexual exploitation- including fostering a sense of belonging, building social supports, offering basic needs, and fostering psychological safety in coming forward. The protocol identifies key preventive actions to support youth if they are being targeted, while actively encouraging students to disclose to an adult they trust. This Administrative Procedure (AP) focuses on the school climate and the school environment, and therefore is limited to a certain degree in its implementation.
