Anti-Human Trafficking

by Jay Heisler and Kristin Vaughn

Increasingly, anti-human trafficking is a field that is widely discussed in the mainstream of media, academic thought and government policy.  This owes to a steep rise in cases of human trafficking in North America and around the world.

This field was at first largely ignored in centrist media and dismissed as a Qanon fantasy, infiltrated as it was by a series of scandal-plagued and disreputable far right charities.

However, now that the smoke has cleared, anti-human trafficking is a mainstream field, albeit one where many people in the population do not know much about it.  Often, despite the field now seeing normalized academic and policymaker conferences, many regular people still dismiss it as a fringe or conservative belief owing largely to media attitudes toward the field as it rose from obscurity.

However, the fact that human trafficking is rising is not up for debate.

According to Statistics Canada:

“In 2021/2022, there was an overall increase in the number of completed human trafficking charges and cases compared to the previous year.  More specifically, there was a 9% increase (128 versus 139) in the number of cases and a 35% increase (431 versus 582) in the number of charges in 2021/2022 compared with 2020/2021.”

RUSI(NS)’s Jay Heisler talked to survivor advocate Kristin Vaughn, Emergency Management leader Sandra Dennis-Essig, and to anti-human trafficking leader and mental health professional Ashley Poklar.

“The most crucial information Canadian policymakers need to know is that anti-human trafficking efforts must centre around the voices and experiences of survivors,” Vaughn told RUSI(NS).  “We are the ones who have lived through the horrors and know firsthand what needs to change.  Policies should prioritize survivor-led initiatives, provide comprehensive support services, and focus on prevention and education.”

Both Vaughn and Heisler believe support systems, including mental health care systems, are often the answer.

“It’s essential to address the root causes of trafficking, like poverty, abuse, lack of mental health services and education, and to create a robust legal framework that holds traffickers accountable while supporting survivors in their healing and reintegration into society,” Vaughn told RUSI(NS).  “The long term effects of trafficking must be addressed just as much as the immediate needs of victims and survivors.”

Sandra Dennis-Essig told RUSI(NS) that the view in the Emergency Management field is that social services are the key to this support.

“As someone who has been impacted by human trafficking, I’ve seen firsthand the importance of providing support and resources for rehabilitation and reintegration into society,” Dennis-Essig told RUSI(NS).  “We must also address poverty, lack of education, and gender-based vulnerabilities to prevent exploitation.”

About US-Canada cooperation, Dennis-Essig told RUSI(NS) that both countries “must continue to work together to secure transportation systems like railways and prevent exploitation.”

“As someone who has worked with civilian agencies, I believe the military has a critical role to play in supporting anti-human trafficking efforts, particularly in conjunction with law enforcement,” Dennis-Essig added.  “By providing logistical support, intelligence gathering, and capacity building, we can enhance our collective response.  The military’s impact in rescue operations and survivor rehabilitation programs is invaluable.  However, we must prioritize civilian leadership and coordination to ensure a comprehensive response.”

Ashley Poklar told RUSI(NS) that, “as someone who works closely with ex-US-military members at the Sentinel Foundation, I can definitively say that their experiences overseas, where many of them saw, firsthand, the impact of human trafficking, feeds their drive to ensure individuals aren’t forced into that life anywhere.”

Poklar added: “traffickers couldn’t care less about the lines between countries.” 

“They build international networks for sharing not only their ‘goods’ (which include human beings and materials such as CSAM) but also information on how to effectively groom victims, how to store and share information, how to effectively stay in front of law enforcement in various locations, etc.,” Poklar explained.  “Why wouldn’t we do the same?”

Finally, a former special operations soldier and police officer, speaking to RUSI(NS) on conditions of anonymity, said:

“I would also propose we work harder in the offensive atmosphere; intercepting signals and data of traffickers in addition to awareness and providing education to the vulnerable and their families.”

Jay Heisler is Voice of America’s Canada reporter.  He also teaches a mental health advocacy course at a Canadian university and works on various training and education projects in national security in the US and Canada.  He is currently working on a book contract and at other freelance writing.  Kristin Vaughn is a Survivor-Advocate living in Virginia.  This work is the sole opinion of the authors and does not necessarily represent the views of the Royal United Services Institute of Nova Scotia, Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian Department of National Defence or any other government department and agency.  The authors may be contacted by email at RUSI(NS).