Statistics Canada Article on Human Trafficking

Statistics Canada has published an article entitled Trafficking in persons in Canada, 2022 in its Juristat Bulletin:

"Trafficking in persons, or human trafficking, is a serious human rights violation that can occur domestically or transnationally with the crossing of international borders. Human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation or harbouring of a person and includes controlling or influencing their movements with the goal of exploiting, or facilitating the exploitation of, a person (...)"

"Human trafficking is considered a criminal offence in Canada, as outlined in the Criminal Code and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act .... The National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, announced in 2019, further outlines the Government of Canada’s commitment to prevent and address human trafficking, including providing support to victims and survivors (...)"

"Despite legislation prohibiting all forms of human trafficking both within and outside Canadian borders, it is difficult to detect and measure due to its hidden nature. Victims of human trafficking are generally isolated and concealed from the public, and many may experience barriers or be unwilling to report to authorities for various reasons, including a general distrust of authorities, feelings of shame, fear of consequences, language barriers, or a lack of human rights knowledge ... Moreover, the detection of human trafficking cases by police services may be dependent on the availability of resources, specialized units and training received."

"While human trafficking takes various forms, trafficking for sexual exploitation is the most detected and encountered form of human trafficking by law enforcement in Canada ... It is highly gendered, disproportionately impacting women and girls, although men and boys are also victims."

Among the highlights:

•  In 2022, there were 528 police-reported incidents of human trafficking, a slight decrease compared with 2021
• Of the 3,103 detected victims of police-reported human trafficking in Canada from 2012 to 2022, the vast majority (94%) were women and girls, and were overwhelmingly young, with approximately 7 in 10 (69%) under the age of 25
• Over half (56%) of human trafficking incidents were not solved, or cleared, by police. This could be due to several factors, including the incident still being under investigation, insufficient evidence available to proceed or no accused person identified
• From 2011/2012 to 2021/2022, the most serious decision for the large majority (83%) of completed adult criminal court cases involving at least one human trafficking charge was a stay, a withdrawal, a dismissal, or a discharge. A small proportion of human trafficking cases resulted in a guilty decision (11%)