Group fights human trafficking - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA

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Posted By MICHELLE RUBY
Updated 2 hours ago

Naomi Baker of Brantford founded the organization Canada Fights Human Trafficking in the past year. < BRIAN THOMPSON The Expositor >


A city woman is dedicating herself to fighting human trafficking -- a devastating crime she says Canada is just beginning to tackle.

Naomi Baker was working with an American-based anti-trafficking group when she discovered how serious the problem was in her home country. Devastated by the knowledge, she established Canada Fights Human Trafficking about a year ago.

"The country is just coming to grips with the problem," said Baker.

According to an Organized Crime Impact Study commissioned by the Solicitor General of Canada, the impact of trafficking on Canada is estimated at between $120 million and $400 million a year and accounts for between 8,000 and 16,000 people illegally arriving annually in Canada.

Human trafficking is defined as the recruitment, transportation, harbouring or delivery of people for the purpose of slavery, sexual exportation and forced labour.

About 2.5 million people worldwide, mostly women and children, are believed to victims of human trafficking.

Baker said that, in Canada, a girl can be sold for $15,000 and earn her owner more than $40,000 a year. Although China, Romania, the Philippines and Moldova are the top four worst offenders in international human trafficking to Canada, many cases involve Canadian women and girls who are exploited in the sex trade.

"There is nowhere for these girls to go," said Baker. "They are victimized on every level - mentally, physically, sexually, emotionally, spiritually."

The not-for-profit Canada Fights Human Trafficking is an umbrella organization that brings together volunteers, philanthropists and nongovernmental organizations from across the country. The network can provide victims with basic needs: safe housing, clothing and medical assistance.

Baker, who launched the organization at the Sanderson Centre, says she has about 20 local volunteers working with countless others situated across the country.

"There is a huge need for our services," said Baker, who estimates she devotes more than 70 hours a week to work for group.

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The woman who was the first documented human trafficking victim in Canada has become the group's education director and travels across Canada sharing her story and creating awareness about the flesh trade.

Although human trafficking officially became a crime in Canada in 2004, the first charge wasn't laid until May 2008. A 25-year-old former Toronto man, who made more than $400,000 selling two teenage girls for sex, received a five-year prison sentence.

"We are one of the only nations without a minimum sentence, even Thailand has one," said Baker.

Canada Fights Human Trafficking is a strong supporter of a private member's bill, introduced by Winnipeg MP Joy Smith, which calls for a minimum sentence of five years for those who traffic minors.

"Human trafficking occurs today throughout Canada," Smith says on her website. "Not only are women and young girls trafficked into Canada from abroad, but Canadian women and girls are also trafficked throughout our provinces and cities. Young aboriginal girls are especially vulnerable and are trafficked from their reserves to cities in Canada and the U.S."

Baker, who owns and has been operating Therapeutic Massage Counsel on Fairview Drive for the past 10 years, is seeking to get charitable status for her organization, a designation that would make it easier to raise funds.

"We have been fighting for a charitable number. They tell us we're too political, but we haven't dedicated any resources to political issues. Every time they deny us status, it puts more women at risk and our organization further in debt."

Without stable funding, Canada Fights Human Trafficking has, on several occasions, had to "issue a plea" for money in order to transport victims across the country, said Baker. The group is always looking for local volunteers.

"Kind people (have offered support). It's those people who are the heroes."

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Want to know more?

For more information on Canada Fights Human Trafficking, go to canadafightshumantrafficking.com.

Donations can be made online or at 203-222 Fairview Dr., N3R 2W9.
Article ID# 2246343

Group fights human trafficking - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA

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