In small communities, human trafficking isn’t as commonly seen or talked about.
But it is an issue affecting the district and happens more often than people realize, says Peggy Loyie of the Rainy River District Victim Services Program.
“I learned at a conference that we go to annually down in Brainerd [Mn.] . . . that our community is just ripe for the picking,” she noted.
When small communities like Fort Frances host large events like bass tournaments, for instance, a lot of people who are trafficked are brought here and exploited.
To help get the community more aware of the issue, and better educated on how to identify it, the RRDVSP is hosting a free community event at the local Legion today from 7-8:30 p.m. that is open to the public.
“It’s for the community to come out and understand more about what human trafficking is,” Loyie said.
“We always feel like we’re sheltered here in Northwestern Ontario but we’re not,” she stressed.
“Matter of fact, that’s what makes us even that much more vulnerable is the fact that we’re isolated.”
When much of the community is blind to the issue, it can make it even more problematic, Loyie reasoned.
She’s hoping to see parents out at tonight’s workshop so they can become better educated on the issue.
The event is meant to help parents understand the issue and become more engaged with their kids around how they use social media because of how commonly it’s used to lure young people into the sex trade.
Survivor, educator, and social advocate Timea Nagy will be on hand to share her own story in relation to human trafficking and educate attendees.
All residents are encouraged to attend to help create a safer community that is more cognizant of the issue.
Loyie said anyone can be a victim of human trafficking. One of Nagy’s co-workers also is a survivor, who came from an upper middle-class family, was raised with both parents, and heavily-involved in sports.
“But she just felt like a bit of an outsider at school and she was targeted by a male and ended up in the business,” Loyie noted.
“Hearing her story is so hard because it could be anybody’s daughter.”
Victims of sex trafficking are often held hostage, blackmailed, and exploited, Loyie said.
Nagy immigrated to Canada in 1998 and a year later while living Toronto, she was held in a cheap motel at the hands of traffickers and forced to work in the sex trade.
Those who forced her into the business blackmailed her by saying if she didn’t do what they wanted her to do, they would send pictures of her being trafficked to her parents and grandparents.
To educate local service providers and front-line staff on sex trafficking, the Rainy River District Victim Services Program hosted a two-day workshop earlier this week to help them better understand the mindset of human trafficking victims.
“For that we focused on understanding more about human trafficking, what it looks like, and how best can we help,” said Loyie.
“What do we need to know to do the best we can for somebody who’s in that position?”
One of the key messages workshop attendees learned was not to bombard victims with policy and procedure when first meeting them but instead try to connect with the person.
“We’re realizing how important it is that somebody feels safe,” Loyie stressed.
“That should be our priority and that’s what we’re learning . . . that people need to feel safe first.”
As service providers, many realize how real of a problem human trafficking is in the district, but hotel owners and employees of financial institutions may not be as aware.
To educate these individuals on what to watch out for, the RRDVSP held a lunch earlier today to help them identify potential red flags.
“I think to be an informed community helps to create a safe community,” Loyie reasoned.
And to educate students, a presentation with Nagy was held at Fort High this morning.
