On February 22, 2007, the Canadian House of Commons passed a motion condemning the trafficking of persons and proclaiming February 22nd as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. This day was designated to help bring awareness to the magnitude of modern-day slavery in Canada and abroad, and to encourage Canadians to take steps to combat human trafficking.
In April 2021, Covenant House Vancouver began our Anti-Human Trafficking project to directly support youth in our community who experience, or are at risk of experiencing, human trafficking.
Human trafficking is the exploitation of human beings for gain. Trafficking exploitation can exist in many forms and usually entails victims having to provide sexual services or labour, through the use of force, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of trust, power or authority. Because of this, human trafficking results in substantial physical, psychological, and emotional trauma to the victims.
Taking the time to learn about human trafficking can help protect yourself, your family, and your community from exploitation.
The Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline is a tool for learning about and reporting human trafficking: https://www.canadianhumantraffickinghotline.ca/.
Let us use February 22nd as a day to join together to build a network of awareness.