There are so many great people, and organizations, out there doing their best to fight human trafficking. In most cases, this means offering some level of support to those whom have been victimized by traffickers; or in the case of police agencies, prosecuting the traffickers. These are great things, and a very important part of what needs to be done. However, the further we go with these focusses, the clearer it becomes: this will not end human trafficking. For every girl that is “rescued” from the industry (to use the common agency term), there is another girl coerced into replacing her. For every trafficker who is convicted and sent to jail, there is another who steps in to profit off the sexual slavery of the girls and women in our communities.
What can be done?
Helping girls to exit and recover, and prosecuting traffickers are good and difficult things to do, but the overall net gain in the fight against human trafficking is zero. So how do we fight human trafficking in a way that actually reduces its occurrence? Well first we need to realize we are not fighting just against a handful of evil people who choose to exploit others for profit; we are fighting an industry that draws these people to it with the potential profits to be had. What we have is a supply and demand problem, and research shows removing the potential profits from the table would drastically reduce human trafficking.
In 2008 Shively et al. conducted a study around the implementation of a john school. Their findings were that recidivism, that is to say johns who committed the offence of purchasing sexual services after being charged, was reduced by over 40%. This shift happened immediately and was continually observed over the next 10 years.
In 2006 Weisburd et al. studied a supply/demand targeted enforcement which reduced prostitution by 75% in Jersey City. The study ensured the findings were not due to displacement, and since there are no examples of this level of reduction in any supply targeted enforcement operations, I believe the findings are due to the demand focused aspects.
The government of Sweden has reported that there is an observable reduction in street prostitution by 50-70% since adopting a demand focused enforcement model in 1999.
Demand Focused Enforcement
A recent study, conducted in the united states which has similar enough demographics to be applicable to Canada (there is no such Canadian study at this time), shows that demand focused enforcement could drastically reduce money flowing into the sex trade. According to their findings, about one-quarter of sex buyers may stop due to risk of arrest. That means a strong demand-focused enforcement strategy across the country could lead to an immediate reduction in human trafficking by as much as 25%. Considering there are more than 100 new sex trafficking victims identified in Canada each year, which we know to be a figure significantly lower than the actual number of new victims, this strategy could lead to 25 fewer girls and women lured into sexual exploitation and slavery each year.
Coupled with a john school, like the one conducted in San Francisco, to educate offenders on the impacts of their actions and harsh penalties enforced on repeat offenders this strategy could have far more significant an impact. If the demand is reduced enough, the sex trade will dwindle as the profits will no longer be worth the risk to traffickers; and that means far fewer victims being exploited for the profit of others.
Where do we start?
Fortunately, we live in a country where the legislature already matches the need. In 2014 Bill C36 passed making it illegal to purchase sexual services in Canada. However, enforcement of this crime is not yet occurring in any region that I am aware of. We need a strong push to enforce this law, to show the traffickers and sex buyers alike that we stand with the victims and will no longer tolerate their exploitation; even more effectively this enforcement should be a very public activity, giving potential buyers reasonable deterrence before engaging in the sex trade.
We also need a change in perspective in Canada. We need to open our eyes to the very real plight of girls trafficked into the sex trade, and consider the potential harm of funding the traffickers who control them. This is not a victimless crime, it is not a reasonable way to make a living, it is not just meeting your needs. This is slavery, and it is time we put a stop to it.