Human trafficking flourishes alongside COVID-19, while services for survivors have to close

While the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many forms of criminal enterprise, the illegal drug trade in particular, due to travel restrictions and border closures, domestic and international human trafficking both for purposes of sex and labour, appear to be continuing and possibly flourishing because of the decreased awareness and preoccupation with pandemic-related issues. The movement of individuals, even across borders in some cases, could possibly be made easier because of the need to keep products and even certain essential services flowing.

A raft of human traffic charges around the world, including in Ontario, has highlighted how brazen criminals are taking advantage of the pandemic. While drug and gun smuggling have been thwarted by the air and border restrictions, domestic and international human trafficking have continued unhampered.

Peel is the epicentre for the heinous crime in Ontario, but service providers and the Region of Peel have been forced to delay efforts to help survivors, leaving many without the help they need.

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Published in The Pointer Brampton and The Pointer Mississauga on July 2, 2020