An Empirical Assessment of Human Trafficking from the Former Eastern Bloc to/through Canada

Background and Purpose:  Human trafficking, or trafficking in persons (TIP), is a growing global problem. Millions of people are trafficked around the world for the purposes of sexual, labor and other forms of exploitation, and thousands die prematurely as a result. Health and social service providers are becoming more and more actively involved in counter-TIP initiatives, particularly direct service provision to trafficked victims/survivors. Yet empirical social work research on TIP in North America remains relatively fragmented. The main objective of our study was to provide a comprehensive empirical assessment of the situation with TIP from the former Eastern Bloc to/through Canada, particularly with respect to the NGO awareness of, and responses to, the problem.

Methods: The study employed a multi-method design. The sources of data included: (a) targeted email and telephone inquiries of 170 counter-TIP organizations in 29 former Eastern Bloc countries (n=164) and Canada (n=6); (b) in-depth qualitative interviews with 40 representatives of service-providing counter-TIP organizations (36 in the former Eastern Bloc, 4 in Canada), 18 key informants, such as police officers, government officials, academics and journalists (17 in the former Eastern Bloc, 1 in Canada), and with 1 Eastern European male survivor of labor trafficking in Canada; (c) official TIP reports, statistics, court and organizational documents, media articles, online resources, and video materials. English and the official languages of the former Eastern Bloc countries were used for the investigation.

Results: The study findings indicate that while the former Eastern Bloc has been named by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the U.S. Department of State, and multiple Canadian NGOs as the second (behind Asia), if not first, principal source region for TIP to Canada, in the former Eastern Bloc nations Canada is virtually invisible on the counter-human trafficking radar. The scope of TIP from the region to North America is perceived as insignificant compared to the scope of TIP within Europe. We found only a handful of confirmed cases of TIP survivors who have returned to their home countries, and a few potential or borderline cases. The possible explanations were: (1) Canada is too far away and too expensive to travel to; (2) it is difficult to obtain a temporary visa to Canada, and people now know more about legal and permanent migration options; (3) trafficked victims remain in Canada; (4) victims who return home do not seek help; (5) victims may not define themselves as trafficked or may not be classified as such; (6) returned victims migrate or are re-trafficked to other countries. The virtual absence of communication between counter-TIP organizations in Canada and the former Eastern Bloc was flagged as a major impediment to the collection of accurate TIP data, victim service provision, and the overall responses to the problem.

Conclusions and Implications: The study calls for the establishment of partnerships and collaborations between counter-TIP organizations in North America and the former Eastern Bloc, as well as legal and social policy changes needed to ensure the provision of timely and effective assistance to trafficked victims/survivors.