Human trafficking may not be an issue people immediately think of as a local issue, but it does happen in communities across Canada.
That was one of the first realizations for those attending a human trafficking workshop held in Yorkton last Thursday.
鈥淚t definitely happens in Saskatchewan,鈥� said speaker Bruce Fenske of the RCMP. 鈥淚t happens in major cities. It happens in smaller communities.鈥�
Fenske said people are trafficked, or used in a variety of fashions. It can be forced participation in the sex trade, but it can be working in so-called sweat shops, or farm labour too, or it may be an illegal harvesting of organs. He added human trafficking can be thought of as 鈥渆xploitation of a person.鈥�
Fenske said his presentation focused on raising awareness of the problem.
鈥淚t鈥檚 providing some education,鈥� he said, adding in terms of people working in the social service field understanding signs of people being trafficked so they can offer help. He said the first step to helping 鈥渋s talking to a client.鈥�
Once there is an indication of a situation the worker 鈥渃an use that to get some help for the person.鈥�
The idea for the workshop came from Myrna Rhinas who said she was first introduced to the seriousness of the issue at a by NASHI, a Saskatoon-based organization that opposes human trafficking by raising awareness through education.
Next Rhinas attended an 鈥楿gly Truth Forum鈥�, also in Saskatoon, and from there she said she decided to bring the issue to people closer to home through the workshop.
Rhinas echoed that the first step in dealing with the serious issue 鈥渋s awareness鈥�.
From there Rhinas brought SIGN on-board.
鈥淧art of SIGN鈥檚 mandate is encouraging involvement to build strong communities,鈥� said SIGN executive director Andrew Sedley.
Sedley said clearly many of the personnel working on various SIGN programs would benefit from the material presented at the workshop.
