Trying to reach the unreachable

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

Early detection is a crucial factor for many things in life, especially when it comes to health – many times, it is enough to save a life.  However, Durham Regional Police know even that is not always enough to save a young girl from the sex trade.

In similar fashion to other sex crimes, human trafficking starts with grooming. A handsome older guy approaches cute young girl, they talk, they date, they fall in love; or at least she does.

Sometimes, keen parents or a friend will catch on that something is not right, and they will contact the DRPS for help.

“We will talk to her and see all the signs, and say, ‘Yeah absolutely, she’s being recruited, 100 per cent,” says Sgt. Ron Kapuscinski with the DRPS Human Trafficking Unit.

“She will refuse to believe it.”

The strong conviction is a byproduct of traffickers skilled in manipulation.

“They are the finest of sociopaths, quite frankly,” says Jade Harper, the executive director of Victim Services Durham Region.

“They can manipulate and cajole and they can look for individuals who are marginalized, who are vulnerable, who have had a history of trauma.”

And for the past two years, using new tactics and growing resources, police continue to track and put a stop to these crimes, while Victim Services continues to help in picking up the pieces.

More incidents, spreading awareness

Human trafficking was shunted back into the headlines earlier this month when the DRPS announced they had arrested a 25-year-old Ajax man who had manipulated a young female into the sex trade.

The victim, who met the accused last year via social media, was threatened, sometimes with a gun, and intimidated into continuing to work for him. She was able to escape in March.

The male was arrested in a Toronto motel on Aug 16 while in the company of another sex-trade worker.

While it is hard to say if the incidents are increasing in recent years, Kapuscinski says the number of reports has “exponentially grown.”

“I can say the number of reported cases are way higher and there’s reasons for that,” he says.

DRPS’ first conviction for human trafficking occurred as a result of Project Spencer in 2013 – an initiative led by Kapuscinski, during which a team of officers arrested a 33-year-old man in Whitby accused of exploiting two women.

The Canada-wide operation Northern Spotlight in 2014 also provided a glimpse into the prevelance of this crime in Durham Region. Over two days, DRPS interviewed 31 sex trade workers with an average age of 26, nine of whom were under some level of control. Those 31 sex workers represented the highest total for any police service during the operation.

Since that time, DRPS has created its Human Trafficking Unit, and while the province still lacks a standard system for tracking incidents of human trafficking, awareness around the crime is increasing due in part to the work of the unit.

Along with education campaigns in local schools, the unit has run a human trafficking hotline for the past two years.

While the hotline isn’t exactly “lighting up,” Kapuscinski says the number has been a great tool for concerned friends and family to reach out about a loved one, many of whom show a strong willingness to help.

“I thought in the beginning that people may to want…remain anonymous,” Kapuscinski says. “But it turns out most people don’t mind getting involved.”

The number is handed out like a business card during investigative probes and during interactions that members of the Human Trafficking Unit have with those working in the sex trade. It is also now starting to pop up on the lockers of Durham Region high school students, thanks to a new initiative that has placed the number on the bottom of a locker mirror.

Regardless of the method, Kapuscinski says spreading the word is key.

“Awareness is still a huge thing and the more we get it out, the more we spread that hotline number, the more it’s going to get used,” he says.

Helping victims, dealing with trauma

Escaping the sex trade is not like flipping a switch, and nobody in Durham Region would know that better than Victim Services.

According to Harper, it is not uncommon to see the face of the same women walking through the door again and again.

“It would be foolish to think it’s a one-time intervention,” she says.

“In some cases, we have multiple, multiple connections with these clients. You’re just getting a little, itty bitty bit each time.”

Working in close conjunction with police, Victim Services provides a wide array of services to victims of crime. In the case of woman escaping the sex trade, aside from practical aid in the form of obtaining identification, clothing and other basic needs, Victim Services is also a valuable trauma support.

“It’s not just about giving things,” Harper says.

“It’s actually about creating a relationship, one that is free and confidential, it’s non-judgemental, it’s unbiased. There isn’t anything anybody could say to us that would phase us.”

Through that communication, Victim Services is able to build a relationship and enough trust to have a victim speak about something they have, in many cases, been made to keep silent about.

“We have to tread very lightly,” Harper says.

“We can’t just come in and say, ‘Oh we know you’ve been trafficked.’”

In many cases of human trafficking, the issue is exacerbated by the fact that this is not the first instance of trauma for the victim, as the vulnerable and exposed are exactly the type traffickers look for.

“You have a culmination of trauma that do make them more vulnerable and more exposed to the impact of human trafficking,” Harper says.

To combat this, Harper says Victim Services become their “champion.”

“We’ll be that champion or that guide to really assist them in navigating the system, by reducing their sense of helplessness, confusion and stress.”

Moving forward, stopping exploitation

For Kapuscinski, the efforts of the unit are, quite simply, to save girls from being exploited and forced into doing things they don’t want to.

It is a high hill to climb.

“It’s pretty impossible to stop the demand,” he says. “The demand will always be there. It’s terrible.”

DRPS urge anyone with information to contact the Human Trafficking hotline at 1-888-5790-1520 ext. 4888.

Victim Services can also be reached at 905-579-1520 ext. 3400. All services are confidential and a police report is not required.