Human trafficking a concern for all

Human trafficking may not be an issue people immediately think of as a local issue, but it does happen in communities across Canada.

That was one of the first realizations for those attending a human trafficking workshop held in Yorkton last Thursday.

“It definitely happens in Saskatchewan,” said speaker Bruce Fenske of the RCMP. “It happens in major cities. It happens in smaller communities.”

Fenske said people are trafficked, or used in a variety of fashions. It can be forced participation in the sex trade, but it can be working in so-called sweat shops, or farm labour too, or it may be an illegal harvesting of organs. He added human trafficking can be thought of as “exploitation of a person.”

Fenske said his presentation focused on raising awareness of the problem.

“It’s providing some education,” he said, adding in terms of people working in the social service field understanding signs of people being trafficked so they can offer help. He said the first step to helping “is talking to a client.”

Once there is an indication of a situation the worker “can use that to get some help for the person.”

The idea for the workshop came from Myrna Rhinas who said she was first introduced to the seriousness of the issue at a by NASHI, a Saskatoon-based organization that opposes human trafficking by raising awareness through education.

Next Rhinas attended an ‘Ugly Truth Forum’, also in Saskatoon, and from there she said she decided to bring the issue to people closer to home through the workshop.

Rhinas echoed that the first step in dealing with the serious issue “is awareness”.

From there Rhinas brought SIGN on-board.

“Part of SIGN’s mandate is encouraging involvement to build strong communities,” said SIGN executive director Andrew Sedley.

Sedley said clearly many of the personnel working on various SIGN programs would benefit from the material presented at the workshop.