Anti-human trafficking initiative targets Hamilton hotels
The young woman walking through the hotel lobby may be dressed in nice clothes, her hair and nails neatly done.
But she doesn't carry her own phone or wallet. She doesn't speak. She seems separate from the people she's with. She's not in control.
These are warning signs of human trafficking.
Hamilton police are hoping to raise awareness through an initiative called Project Daffodil so staff and guests at hotels and motels across the city can spot the signs and call for help.
They are the front lines of human trafficking," said Det. Michael MacSween of the human trafficking unit.
Phase 1 of the project includes educational signs going up in motels and hotels across Hamilton this week. Phase 2 will include training staff whose employers sign up to spot the signs.
Part of our unit goal in 2021 is to increase public education and awareness," MacSween said. It's an initiative that we created to get this information out there to the staff, guests and victims."
The project is named daffodil because the flower symbolizes rebirth, MacSween said. And the hope is to give victims - overwhelmingly young women in their late teens and early 20s - a chance to start a new life.
That's what makes human trafficking cases different from most other police investigations: the main goal is to help victims to safety.
Charges are not our sole purpose," he said. Just because you call us you don't need to go to court."
Human trafficking offences include someone being recruited and controlled in order to exploit that person. The most common form is sex trafficking, but there is also forced labour.
About 75 per cent of survivors say they have had some sort of interaction at a hotel or motel while they were being trafficked.
The Hamilton police team contacted every hotel and motel across the city. Many, but not all, agreed to participate in the project.
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the number of human trafficking victims in Hamilton continues to grow.
In 2020, Hamilton's human trafficking unit had 65 investigations, laid 61 charges and had interactions with 32 victims. In 2019, there were 48 investigations, 77 charges laid and eight victims.
In March 2020, Ontario launched its anti-human trafficking strategy, which includes $307 million in funding. Hamilton received funding to hire an additional investigator. The team is now composed of a detective and three detective constables.
New provincial legislation passed this week includes changes aimed at increasing public awareness and strengthening police and children's aid societies' ability to protect exploited children. Changes include: making it easier for survivors to get restraining orders; increased penalties for traffickers who interfere with a child in the care of a children's aid society and making it easier for police to access hotel registries.
The legislation was criticized by some community organizations and sex worker groups who argued giving more powers to police will only endanger already marginalized sex workers. However, the government and police say the laws do not target anyone choosing to do sex work.
MacSween said collaborating with community agencies is key, because the goal is always to help the victims first. And even in cases where there are criminal charges against a trafficker, it's often years before the court case is heard and victims need support in the interim. The agency where Hamilton police most often refer victims is the YMCA's youth in transition human trafficking initiative that works with people 24 and younger involved in human trafficking.
It's not just hotels where victims are trafficked - police are also seeing it in short-term rentals.
In 2020, two brothers from Quebec were charged after two women were rescued from a Hamilton Airbnb. Police found them after one of the women managed to call the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline, which just marked its two-year anniversary.
In Montreal, Sulyvan Dignard recently pleaded guilty to procuring for sexual services, advertising sexual services, material benefit and two counts of fail to comply with bail. He was sentenced to three years years. He also pleaded to other Montreal-area charges for a total sentence of five years. The other brother had his charges withdrawn.
In that case, like others, one of the victims was branded. It's common for victims to be tattooed with their trafficker's initials or an image that symbolizes ownership.
Another trend police see is victims increasingly being targeted over social media, he said. Traffickers look for vulnerable, young girls to shower with attention before manipulating them into sex work.
This approach to grooming is often called the Romeo." In many cases victims believe their trafficker is their boyfriend and loves them, making it harder to break away. The other approach is sometimes called the gorilla" and involves threats and violence.
Human trafficking is a complicated crime that knows no borders.
Within the provincial strategy there is also an intelligence-led joint forces team. MacSween is the Hamilton representative.
Many of Hamilton's case are multi-jurisdictional, with victims also trafficked in neighbouring communities, including Halton and Niagara regions, and as far away as Calgary and Vancouver.
It's also not just lower-end establishments where human trafficking is discovered. It happens everywhere because it's lucrative.
It's horrific to think what someone can do for personal gain, while at the same time wrecking another person's life," MacSween said.
Nicole O'Reilly is a Hamilton-based reporter covering crime and justice for The Spectator. Reach her via email: noreilly@thespec.com
For more information on human trafficking, visit canadiancentretoendhumantrafficking.ca.
Call the confidential Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-900-1010.
In an emergency call 911. To reach the Hamilton police non-emergency line call 905-546-4925.
To reach the YMCA of Hamilton, Burlington and Brantford's youth in transition human trafficking initiative call or text 289-659-6290.