Is Ontario Facing a Human Trafficking Crisis? | The Rundown

Описание: According to Statistics Canada, between 2014 and 2024, police reported more than 5,000 thousand cases of human trafficking - and experts say that's just the tip of the iceberg. Over 90 per cent of the victims were women and girls, most of them under the age of 25. Data shows that Ontario's rates exceed the national average. So why is this such a big problem here and now - and what else could be done to stop it? We discuss with Kiaras Gharabaghi, the dean of the Faculty of Community Services at TMU and the co-director of the Centre for Combating Child Sex Trafficking and Online Child Sexual Exploitation; Liz Molligan, the director of intake at Children's Aid Society Toronto; Melanie Clark, a staff sergeant in investigative services with the Guelph Police Service; and Casandra Diamond, an anti-human-trafficking specialist and founder of BridgeNorth Advocacy, an organization dedicated to ending sexual exploitation in Canada.

00:00 Intro
00:44 What Is Human Trafficking? A Clear Definition
01:25 Human Trafficking vs. Drug and Labour Trafficking
02:09 What Human Trafficking Looks Like in Canada
03:15 Police‑Reported Human Trafficking Data in Canada
03:48 Child Welfare Perspective on Youth Exploitation
04:39 Survivor Perspective: How Young Victims Really Are
06:00 Why Ontario Is a Human Trafficking Hub
08:11 Why G Has One of Canada’s Highest Reported Rates
10:29 Why Youth Are Especially Vulnerable
11:59 How Quickly Online Grooming Can Happen
12:25 How Traffickers Target Vulnerable Youth
13:26 Common Risk Factors Seen by Child Welfare
14:09 How Children’s Aid Intervenes and Supports Families
15:02 Police Focus on Safety, Not Just Arrests
15:46 Warning Signs Parents and Communities Should Watch For
17:00 The Four Stages of Exploitation
18:15 Why Victims Often Don’t Come Forward
19:37 Isolation, Control, and Financial Dependency
20:43 Trauma Bonds and Barriers to Leaving
22:01 Policy Solutions: What Needs to Change
22:22 Suppressing Demand and Listening to Survivors
23:31 Education, Prevention, and Community Action
24:52 Breaking Silos: A Public Health Approach

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The Rundown is your nightly half-hour deep dive into just one headline. With host Jeyan Jeganathan, we’ll cover everything from housing and health care to climate and AI. We’ll break down why each topic matters, who’s living it, and what’s being done to make things better – starting right here in Ontario. Slow down. Tune in. Make sense of the moment. And tell us what you think.

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