CONTENTS

• I. Introduction
  
• II. Overview
  
• III. Aboriginal Children
  
• IV. Children Trafficked into BC
  
• V. The Children of China and the Children of Honduras
  
• VI. Canadian Children Trafficked to the United States for Prostitution
  
• VII. Internet Luring
  
• VIII. The Child Victim Witness
  
• IX. Summary
  

I. INTRODUCTION

This paper will examine the issue of child trafficking for the purposes of prostitution in British Columbia Canada. I would like to frame the paper in consideration of four areas of child trafficking currently taking place in BC. They are: the trafficking of Aboriginal girls from their home communities and reserves to larger towns and cities; the trafficking of children from other countries into British Columbia; the trafficking of Canadian citizens from British Columbia to the United States; and the use of Internet technology to lure children across the border.

Due to the illicit nature of child sexual exploitation, it is very difficult to get precise information on the number of children who are sexually exploited or trafficked in British Columbia. Consequently, this paper will rely upon the information provided to me by police, social workers, Crown, and human rights organizations, as well as documented reports and news articles. I will also draw upon my own experience as past Director of Youth Outreach Services for a non- profit organization (NGO) and as a facilitator and participant at numerous community and government consultations on the matter of child sexual exploitation. Due to time restraints I was unable to secure permission to name government and police who assisted me in the preparation of this document. In future, I intend to pursue permission and amend the document accordingly.

In order to grasp fully the problem of child trafficking and address the issue within legal and social remedies, we must understand the issue operates across jurisdictions and is a provincial, federal and international problem. We currently do not have accurate information on the numbers of women and children trafficked into Canada, but US data indicate that there are an estimated 45,000- 50,000 women and children trafficked into that country every year.⁽¹⁾ Under past President Bill Clinton, the President's Interagency Council on Women defined trafficking this way:

Trafficking is all acts involved in the recruitment, abduction, transport, harboring, transfer, sale or receipt of persons; within national or across international borders; through force, coercion, fraud or deception; to place persons in situations of slavery or slavery-like conditions, forced labour or services, such as forced prostitution or sexual services, domestic servitude, bonded sweatshop labor or other debt bondage.⁽²⁾

II. OVERVIEW

Child commercial sexual exploitation refers to the sexual abuse of children in prostitution, pornography and the trafficking of children for the purpose of prostitution and pornography. Canada, as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), is responsible to protect children from harm and to advance their rights as defined by this document. Article 35 of the Convention refers specifically to trafficking. It states:

States Parties shall take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of or traffic in children for any purpose or in any form.

In Canada, we have experienced both a growing concern for, and incidence of, children who are sexually exploited. In addition, new technologies like the Internet have created a resurgence of global child pornography. Empirical research in the area of child commercial sexual exploitation is relatively new and undeveloped and further research is required in order to gain accurate knowledge about the numbers of children abused in Canada as well as the numbers and profiles of offenders.

According to Statistics Canada, 10%-15% of people involved in street prostitution are under 18 (this figure is viewed by most child advocates as a gross underestimate).⁽³⁾ The average age of entry into the sex trade differs across studies, but in general there is agreement that children are recruited by others into the sex trade or choose to enter the sex trade in order to survive on the street at the average age of 14-15 years old. However, there is some indication that the age of entry into the sex trade is decreasing, especially for Aboriginal children, where the average age is 13-14 years.⁽⁴⁾ It is worth noting that in Canada the age of consent for sexual activity is 14 years, and there appears to be strong consensus that this age is too low and contributes to an environment of risk for children. The recent Supreme Court decisions on Sharpe (child pornography) further underlines the importance of raising the age of consent in order to provide additional protection for children.

It is not uncommon for adult men to prey upon a child who has just turned 14 in order to avoid state intervention on behalf of that child. These men usually befriend and then develop a 'romantic' sexual relationship with the child and often the child genuinely believes that this man is her boyfriend. They often have a drug dependency and may deal in drugs resulting in the use of the child as a 'drug mule'. Eventually the child also becomes involved in serious drug use and she is 'put out' by the boyfriend to satisfy their drug addiction and basic living needs.

In British Columbia, many communities have known areas where children can be purchased for sex at the street level. In Vancouver, this area of town, known as the "kiddie stroll" is listed on the Internet for pedophiles who reside in the country or who may wish to travel from other countries to Vancouver in order to abuse a child. Indoor venues also exist in the form of private apartments, unfurnished abandoned buildings, brothels, escort agencies and strip clubs.

Many children who are used for prostitution are also used for pornography. For example, there appears to be a growing trend among abusers to videotape the child victim in order to upload these tapes onto the Internet to share with others. Individuals who fantasize about having sex with a child now have their desires normalized through an Internet community of pedophiles.⁽⁵⁾ Children who are used for pornography generally do not confide this information to police, social workers or outreach workers. But, if asked directly, many children have been photographed or videotaped by either their abuser or by a 'business' operation. Yet, I know of no research that captures this dynamic.

The recruitment of children into prostitution takes many forms. In British Columbia, children and youth are targeted by an increasing number of individuals working either alone or within an organized group or gang. Teenage girls are 'befriended' at malls and parties or at government resources, such as group homes and detention centres, and party houses. Drugs also figure into the recruitment and coercion pattern, as do gifts. In addition, some sexually exploited girls are used to recruit others into prostitution.

Children and youth who reside in rural areas where services are not available may enter into the sex trade due to a need for food or shelter, and these children and youth exchange sex for food, shelter, protection and drugs. Many youth have no safe home to return to, and for a number of reasons either do not seek assistance from the government or when in the care of the government have experienced abuse and consequently become 'service resistant'. The rate of child sexual abuse at the hands of a trusted adult, guardian or family member is very high for children who are sexual exploited in the sex trade. There is a clear relationship between running away, homelessness and vulnerability to recruitment.

In their 2001 study on street youth in BC, the McCreary Centre on adolescent health found that about a quarter of street youth indicated that they engaged in sexual activities in exchange for money or goods. According to the recent study, the average age of entry into the sex trade is 13. Of the sexually exploited youth who responded to the survey, 21% indicated that they were less than 12 years of age when they first became involved in the sex trade.⁽⁶⁾

Educational programs initiated by the province of British Columbia have focused on education programs for youth. The "Being Aware, Taking Care" program provided information to schools and other youth programs on the dangers of prostitution and the dynamics of recruitment. In 1996, the Attorney General's Ministry created a Provincial Prostitution Unit (PPU) made up of police, the Crown, a community development coordinator and a social worker. This unit, required to address the issue provincially, was primarily responsible for community and police education as well as the accumulation of information and resources. The unit has recently been reassigned to focus on law enforcement alone, leaving public and school-based initiatives to communities. In the past, the BC Attorney General's Ministry has worked closely with other provinces and the federal government through a federal/provincial/territorial working group on child sexual exploitation. The province of British Columbia currently does not arrest a 'juvenile prostitute' unless they are known to recruit other youth.

The Child, Family and Community Services Act of BC names sexual exploitation within their protection policy, and social workers can, according to policy, take a child into protective custody if there is reasonable grounds to assume that a child is at risk for recruitment into the sex trade. However, due to ever decreasing resources for child protection, this policy is rarely followed.⁽⁷⁾ The province of Alberta has made legislative changes around the issue, most notably the change in legislation to name sexual exploitation as sexual abuse as well as the development of a non-voluntary treatment program for youth. Many other provinces are currently looking at non-voluntary treatment programs for youth, including British Columbia. The majority of child rights advocates do not support non-voluntary programs. These advocates state that non-voluntary programs for children who are not mentally ill but in need of long-term support and resources is contrary to that child's human rights. However, as a last option, some police and social workers do support non-voluntary programs for children who are not willing to seek out help. Unfortunately, a recent review of the Alberta program found that it is ineffective in treating children who are sexually exploited, primarily because there are no long-term programs to follow their treatment. Consequently, the same children are moved in and out of non- voluntary treatment again and again, some have been apprehended as many as 17 times.⁽⁸⁾

Some social service providers indicate that the life expectancy of a child who is sexually exploited is about seven years from the point of entry into the sex trade. They base this figure on the increased likelihood of violence and the serious health problems that sexually exploited children face. The BC Provincial Health Officer's report (1997) included child sexual exploitation as a serious issue requiring immediate attention by health and social service agencies.⁽⁹⁾

Children abused in the sex trade are consistently raped, underfed, tortured, introduced to drugs, isolated and generally treated as less than human. Even when a child knowingly enters into a relationship with someone who intends to prostitute them, they often feel that they have no other option available to them or have a pre- existing drug addiction or mental health concern that intrudes into their ability to keep safe. The despair experienced by children and youth in the sex trade leads to increased suicidal ideation and other serious mental health issues, as well as drug use and drug overdose, severe health problems like HIV/aids and malnutrition.

However, some children and youth are able to seek and secure assistance in order to leave the sex trade. These youth appear to have a number of factors working in their favour; they tend to be older, more educated and able to make strong connections with people who can help them.⁽¹⁰⁾

III. ABORIGINAL CHILDREN

Indigenous children in British Columbia are over-represented in the number of children who are sexually exploited within the province. Statistics Canada cites 20% of Aboriginal children in Canada as exploited through the sex trade, with an average age of 'entering the sex trade' of 13 years.⁽¹¹⁾ Both Aboriginal boys and girls are recruited for the purposes of prostitution, but Aboriginal girls appear to experience more violence than other children on the street.

In a recent community forum (Vancouver, November 1998) police liaison officers for the inner city school programs noted that Aboriginal girls, some as young as 8 years old, were approached by adults for sex on a regular basis.⁽¹²⁾ Aboriginal girls are coerced into prostitution by boyfriends and others who may or may not be gang affiliated. In addition, a gang named the West Coast Players, known to have international ties, has moved into many inner city communities to recruit girls into prostitution.⁽¹³⁾ Other gangs involved in the child sex trade within this province include the Hell's Angels, Asian gangs, American based gangs, and less organized 'middlemen' who recruit young girls to party with and then to sell. Recently, youth workers have found that Honduran boys, trafficked to Vancouver for drug dealing, are now actively recruiting Aboriginal girls for prostitution.

Many of the boys found within Vancouver's male sex trade known as 'boy's town' are Aboriginal and many come to Vancouver from reserves and communities across Canada. Aboriginal children who come to Vancouver from communities across BC appear to remain in this province and often end up on the street rather than in in-house venues (such as brothels and strip clubs). But this is not always the case. For example, in a small town in BC, an Aboriginal girl was kidnapped from her community and later found within a Vietnamese run strip club in Vancouver.⁽¹⁴⁾

Like their non-Aboriginal peers, Aboriginal children who are involved in the 'sex trade' have histories of child abuse from a trusted adult, drug and alcohol addiction in the family, poverty, homelessness, and foster care. In addition, the Aboriginal community clearly feels that the ongoing problems they experience are a result of the legacy of residential school abuse. They believe that many of the abusers within their communities were themselves victims of sexual abuse through government and church-run institutions.

IV. CHILDREN TRAFFICKED INTO BC

Canada is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as well as to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and numerous other human rights conventions pursuant to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). States have an obligation to protect trafficked persons from exploitation and harm, including: adopting the principle of non-discrimination, safety and fair treatment; providing access to justice, access to private action and reparations from traffickers; granting resident status - including the right to work - pending civil, criminal or legal action; allowing the right to seek asylum; providing access to health care and other services; facilitating repatriation and reintegration to home communities, and encouraging State cooperation among countries.

Under Article 22 of the CRC, Canada has agreed to provide trafficked children with special protection, assistance and attention. Currently, the province of BC provides unaccompanied minors with income assistance, repatriation and legal council toward a refugee claim. However, the province does not treat these children with the same due diligence as is required for other children requiring protection. For example, unaccompanied minors are placed within facilities that cannot provide a range of services to assist with the special needs of these children - including translation, so that a child will know and understand their rights. The government also seems happy to accept any adult representative for the child and no check is done to ensure that these helping adults are safe. In 1994, there were 700 unaccompanied minors who applied for refugee status in Canada.⁽¹⁵⁾

V. THE CHILDREN OF CHINA AND THE CHILDREN OF HONDURAS

The recent public outcry about boat loads of children and adults entering Canada from China led to a change in Canada's Immigration Act to toughen the law on 'illegal migrants'. Although the government has made recent changes to guidelines concerning the treatment of unaccompanied minors, it is up to each province to accept and enforce these changes.⁽¹⁶⁾ Unaccompanied minors, while recognized by the province of BC as requiring protection, are not entitled to argue their age as a classification for refugee status under the Immigration Act. Instead, under Canada's Immigration Act a person can argue for refugee status if they can prove that they are persecuted because of their political beliefs, race, religion or nationality. The Act does not state gender or age as a specific category for consideration. However, some immigration lawyers in BC are arguing on behalf of their child clients that a child that is trafficked into Canada should constitute a social group under the Act.

Currently in BC, unaccompanied minors are referred through immigration authorities or through financial aid authorities to a special unit of the Ministry of Children and Family Development. This new unit was set up to deal specifically with the children arriving from China but works with any child entering into Canada without a guardian. An unaccompanied minor can apply for refugee status and can access a lawyer free of charge. However, only an estimated 2% of children who apply for refugee status are successful, the remainder are returned to their countries of origin, some to life- threatening conditions.⁽¹⁷⁾

Almost all of the children who were taken into the care of the Ministry have run from their facilities, and officials have no idea where these children are. Some are assumed to have left the province for Toronto or the United States and others may have connected up with family members, or fled to underground jobs or to the sex trade. Recently, police in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver, raided a brothel of adult women and girl children and reported that at least one of the children working within this brothel was a runaway from recent boat arrivals. According to police, women and children from China usually remain within their ethnic community in an underground sex trade.⁽¹⁸⁾

The Coalition against Trafficking in Women (CATW) states that as many as 100 Honduran children have been smuggled into Vancouver for the drug trade.⁽¹⁹⁾ Children, mostly boys, are trafficked to Vancouver in order to send money made in the drug trade home. Honduran and Mexican children are very likely to seek and accept deportation as a means to return home, although these same children often return to other cities across Canada.⁽²⁰⁾ Honduran gangs use children to sell drugs because they are more compliant than adults and can avoid prosecution more easily than adults. There is some indication from street outreach service providers that these children are starting to use the drugs that they sell. Families also take part in drug trafficking as a means of income for themselves and for their relatives at home. Recently, service providers reported that Honduran girls are now being trafficked into BC for the purpose of prostitution.

Children who are trafficked into BC do not necessarily remain in BC. Many move through BC into other parts of Canada, particularly Toronto, and to the US. The lack of consistent cross-provincial programs to protect a child from harm and secure his/her rights is a clear violation of Canada's commitment to the CRC and a point of needed legislative reform.

VI. CANADIAN CHILDREN TRAFFICKED TO THE UNITED STATES FOR PROSTITUTION

The movement of children from BC into the US is well known to service providers and police, and has been occurring for some time - but until recently it was not considered as trafficking. Instead it was understood that these children were placed on what was commonly referred to as the 'sex circuit' or the 'sex tsiangle', that is, the route between Vancouver/Seattle, to Los Angeles/Las Vegas and Hawaii. The route included these cities because of the large sex trade found within conferences, resort (gaming) hotels, and military towns. Often children are then moved on to other parts of the US as they follow conferences. The average age of children who are used on the sex circuit is between 14 and 16 years of age. They are transported across the border usually in the care of older men or older men and women. Sometimes they travel alone or with another girl. Occasionally, children seek and receive help from police in the United States, however, in the past, police have sought to keep children seeking help in custody in order to witness against the adult (pimp). In these cases, the province of BC has requested that the US return the child to Canada immediately.

VII. INTERNET LURING

The use of the Internet to make contact with children is now commonplace, and police state that it is a matter of minutes from logging on to the net before an adult approaches a child. A recent Canadian study⁽²¹⁾ indicates that 30% of 9-10 year old children, 58% of 11-12 year olds, and 70% of 13-14 year olds enter chat rooms. Of the children who regularly use the Internet, 70% talk very little with their parents about their experiences. Twenty-five percent of children who use Internet chat rooms are asked to meet face-to-face, and 15% have done so. The study further indicates that 53% of young Internet users have received pornographic material and 78% of this group have indicated this was unwanted. One quarter of the children state that this material came from someone who they met online. Boys appear to receive more of this material than girls. Almost half of the youth questioned in the survey have received unwanted sexual comments. In addition, children and youth receive threats through e-mail and through instant messaging (IM). Again and again the research indicates very low parental intervention, protection, or use of rules for Internet use. A similar study conducted with children indicated that one in five children in the US received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet and one in four had unwanted exposure to pictures of naked people having sex.⁽²²⁾

There are two well-known incidents of child luring through the Internet in BC. The first case involves a young boy from Prince George who was contacted by an adult male through a chat room. Over time the adult was able to convince the boy that he knew where he lived and to do as instructed or face harm. The boy was directed to steal some money from his mother in order to purchase a bus ticket to Portland, Oregon, where the man intended to meet the boy. The boy complied and was on his way to the bus depot when his father, suspecting something was wrong, questioned his son. The boy then told his father about what was happening to him and the father called the Portland police to inform them of the situation. The police in Portland found the man on his boat, along with a large amount of child pornography.

The second case involves an American adult male who, using an Internet chat room, built a relationship with a 14 year old girl in Victoria, BC. Over time he was able to convince the girl to 'run away' with him and the two agreed to meet. The girl appeared to be unprepared for this man's arrival, however, leaving her home with very little (a stuffed animal and some clothes). The adult man, who was much older than the girl, had prior arrests in the United States for sexual offences. The parents and police worked very quickly to inform the community about the girl's disappearance and consequently the man was stopped at a Vancouver Island ferry terminal where he had intended to take the girl to the United States.

Police indicate that on-line adult predators use gender-specific tactics to lure children. In general, men send explicit sexual material to boys and encourage them to talk about sex in order to arouse them. Predators use a less direct method with girls, romancing girls with the promise of love.

Unfortunately, predators are experts in the area of coercion and use this to their advantage in arguing before the courts that the child was in consent of the sexual relationship. Children also often feel complicit if they have become aroused or responsive. Industry Canada, in partnership with other government departments, has produced a resource guide for Canadian families to inform them of the dangers of the Internet.⁽²³⁾ Clearly, unrestricted access to children through chat rooms and cyber stalking is difficult to address within conventional law enforcement techniques. At this time, public awareness campaigns that teach children about safety and encourage parents to become more familiar with the Internet are the best courses of action until stronger regulatory and legal reforms are implemented. Regulating the Internet is strongly opposed by Internet service providers and commercial advertisers, as well as by those who feel that regulation constitutes a violation of freedom of expression.

The Justice Department has introduced an Omnibus Bill⁽²⁴⁾ to give police authority to impound computers known to be used for the production and distribution of pornography. The Omnibus Bill includes a section on child sexual exploitation to deal with existing loopholes in the Criminal Code pertaining to Internet luring, child Internet pornography and sex tourism, as well as providing stronger sentences for offenders. This will give police an opportunity to access the hard drives of computers used to produce and distribute child pornography to build a stronger case, as well as to find and assist other child victims. However, the January 2001 Supreme Court of Canada ruling on pornography (R. v Sharpe)⁽²⁵⁾ has created more potential for harm to children by focusing on the right to freedom of expression over the rights of the child victim. Consequently, stopgap measures to protect children are now being requested by Attorney General's Ministries across the country. For example, in Manitoba, the AG has recommended to the Justice Minister a proposal to narrow exceptions which prohibit possession of child pornography. They include recommendations to ensure that: convicted pedophiles are not able to possess child pornography of any kind, self-created or otherwise; private possession of exempted material is illegal when stored or located in a way that could be viewed by others; private possession of visual recordings or lawful sexual activity is not permitted where consent is obtained through compensation, fraud, inducements and promises; private possession of visual recordings of lawful sexual activity is not permitted where there is an age disparity of more than four years between youth depicted and the person creating the depiction; and, finally, the private possession of visual recordings is not permitted where consent is later withdrawn.

VIII. THE CHILD VICTIM WITNESS

There is strong agreement by child rights advocates, social workers, police, parents, and the Crown that the court process is a traumatic one for children who are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation. For children who carry the extra label of 'child prostitute' the court can seem hostile. The right of the accused to a fair trial is, of course, essential within our legal system. However, the dichotomy between the rights of the accused versus the right of the child to be protected during the court process prevails.

In the province of BC, policy exists to allow the Crown to request the use of a screen, as well as the use of video for victim statements. However, child advocates state that the use of a screen to shield the child witness from the accused does not create an environment of safety for the child and in some cases the defence is complicit in using the screen to unnerve the witness. For example, the offender might peek around the screen, the defence lawyer may make constant reference to the screen, or the child might tend to become more afraid of what he/she can't see.⁽²⁶⁾

A study on the court treatment of children in Canada indicates that it is commonplace for the defence to question children using language and concepts that are beyond their age and ability,⁽²⁷⁾ thus discrediting the child as an unreliable witness. Police also find preliminary hearings to be problematic for the victim witness, stating that these hearings provide the defence with an opportunity to cross- examine the witness aggressively and, in effect, bully the witness to the point where the witness may choose not to go to trial.⁽²⁸⁾ Children who have been sexually abused in pornography and prostitution feel very embarrassed and ashamed and are therefore particularly vulnerable to cross examination techniques that focus on the issue of consent. It is not uncommon for the defence to view a child who has been in the sex trade for some time, or who appears to look older than his/her age, as making a 'choice' to work in the sex trade, therefore implying consent.

The use of video as evidence may be rejected when the child witness is unavailable to the judge in person. Closed circuit TV is also an option for children who may have difficulty in sitting still, for example. Defence lawyers generally argue against any use of protective devices, stating that these provisions will in some way undermine their defence. Many communities simply cannot afford this kind of technology or the Crown may not have the time to ensure that this technology is set up.

When children are required to witness against their pimp the likelihood of the child running is high. There are no programs available to assist and support children through the court process. When police attempt to support witnesses it is in order to ensure a conviction but police do not have the resources to continue their support after the court process has concluded. Occasionally, a young woman will be placed in a shelter until the court process is complete, but most girls run away from these facilities stating that they feel 'different' from the other children and women in the shelter. Because the state cannot protect the child victim witness from their offender, the child and sometimes the child's family have to move in order to protect themselves. For this reason, some parents support their child to withhold evidence for the court.

In a recent consultation paper by Justice Canada (1999)⁽²⁹⁾ on the issue of the child victim witness, children who are victims of sexual exploitation were omitted from the report. Instead, the report referred the reader to a December 1998 paper by the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Working Group on Juvenile Prostitution, a paper not designed to consider in detail the needs of the child victim witness. The separation of children who are sexually abused for the purpose of profit from other child victims of sexual abuse is a telling reminder of Canadian society's bias about child commercial sexual exploitation.

IX. SUMMARY

The trafficking and abuse of children for the purposes of prostitution and pornographic performances is clearly contrary to both international and domestic laws. The problem of child commercial sexual exploitation is not declining, but increasing as a result of growing child poverty, a lack of provincial/federal cooperation and strategies, the ongoing dichotomy between the rights of the child versus freedom of expression, the need for stronger protection for the child victim, and a lack of enforcement mechanisms to hold countries accountable to international treaties.

Many reports on the issue of child commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking provide general and explicit recommendations that include law and policy reform and global harmonization of domestic laws regarding international matters such as trafficking. Due to world instability, and the possible threat of terrorism in Canada, many of these recommendations will not soon be considered. We know that in times of war and economic instability children suffer more, therefore it is even more important to work together to protect children from one of the most disturbing forms of child abuse, child commercial sexual exploitation.

^29. "Child Victims and the Criminal Justice System," Justice Canada, November 1999.