By ALISON LANGLEY Niagara Falls Review
Updated 1 day ago
She has travelled to Asia to document in photos the plight of women who are rounded up and sent elsewhere to be
The man initially sweet talks the woman and makes her believe he wants to be her boyfriend.
He offers her a better life. A life of cash, clothes and cars.
Once she falls under his spell, however, the man's demeanor changes and the woman is forced into prostitution or ordered to work at strip clubs and massage parlors.
The man becomes very controlling and abusive, both mentally and physically, and uses intimidation tactics if the woman starts to offer resistance.
The victims are essentially held hostage and never come forward to police for fear of their lives and retribution from others involved in the sex industry.
It amounts to modern-day slavery and Niagara is not immune to the insidious crime, said local photographer Tasha Hakeem.
"In Niagara, we have the distinction of being a border town so we have human trafficking across the border and we also have a lot of girls who are trafficked from within the country," she said.
Hakeem, who sits on the Sex Trade Task Force of the Niagara Region, said many young girls are "recruited" from Montreal and New Brunswick by men who promise them the world, but deliver them to hell.
Based in St. Catharines, the task force is a community-based initiative that brings several social agencies together to develop exit strategies for women wanting to get off the streets and coping strategies for those who choose to remain in the industry.
"There are gangs and others out there who bring these girls to Niagara to dance and to sell their bodies," she Hakeem.
"These girls didn't realize this was going to happen to them and they don't know where to go for help."
A recent funding announcement from the province that will give police services, including Niagara Regional Police, $1 million to combat human trafficking, Hakeem said, is a step in the right direction.
"Anything we can do to raise awareness of the issue, to educate the public and victims, will help," she said.
Of that $1 million, the NRP will receive about $140,000, which will be used to fight what has become a prevalent issue in Niagara.
Police say Niagara has been identified as an important and frequently used link in the human trafficking chain across Ontario.
The funds will be used to assist with special investigations into the sex trade and improve officer training, NRP Deputy Chief Joe Matthews said.
The money will also help develop a public awareness within the clandestine industry to let victims know there are people out there who can help them.
"This crime is a crime of power and control," Matthews said.
"When there's that imbalance of power, you get the fear factor and victims don't know what to do."
The trade in humans is believed to be the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world, behind arms dealing and drugs.
The RCMP say that about 600 to 800 women and children, many from Asia and Eastern Europe, are trafficked into Canada each year.
Hakeem experienced human trafficking first-hand when she and her husband, Nathan, participated in a missionary trip to Asia in 2008.
The couple, together with seven Brock University students, uncovered horror stories about young girls being coerced into the sex industry and had disturbing conversations with pimps who viewed the girls as property to be bought and sold.
"It certainly was an eye-opening trip," she said.
Hakeem said she is now committed to raising awareness of the growing problem, both internationally and in her own backyard.
The exploitation of a victim is not limited by gender.
Victims are also forced into manual labour.
Recently in Hamilton, police arrested a number of suspects in connection with a human trafficking ring.
A group of men claimed they had been recruited from Hungary to work in construction, only to be coerced into working without pay and living in deplorable conditions.
They were also forced to hand over their identification documents and make false refugee claims.
In 2005, the Criminal Code was amended to include indictable offences that specifically addresses human trafficking.
In 2008, a 25-year-old Niagara Falls man became the first person convicted under the new legislation.
He was sentenced to five years behind bars after pleading guilty to two counts of human trafficking.
The man admitted he made more than $400,000 selling two young girls, ages 14 and 15, for sex.
He used the money to buy himself a BMW and a large home in Niagara Falls.
Source: Niagara Falls Review - Ontario, CA
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