Human
Traicking
Corridors
in Canada
A
B
C
Introduction
5 | Guiding Research
Questions
7 | Terms and Denitions
8 | Types of Human
Tracking in Canada
Summarized Methodology
11 | Research Limitations
How Human Tracking
Corridors Operate
14 | The Economics of Human
Tracking Corridors
14 | Maximizing Prot within
a Competitive Commercial
Sex Market
15
| Minimizing Risks
17
| Types of Sex Tracking
18
| Characteristics of Victims
and Survivors of Sex
Tracking
23
| Characteristics of
Trackers
24
| Who are the Trackers?
25 | How Boyfriend Trackers
Control and Coerce Their
Victims
28 | The Geography of Human
Tracking Corridors and
Circuits
9
13
Exiting Human Tracking
37 | Barriers to Exiting
40 | The “Cycle of Change”
37
Services Needs and Systems
of Intervention
44 | Trauma-informed Programs
45 | Service Provision Challenges
42
Conclusion and
Recommendations
49 | Protection
50 | Prosecution
50 | Partnership
50 | Empowerment
48
Appendices & Endnotes
51 | Appendix A: Glossary of Terms
53 | Appendix B: Full methodology
53 | Literature Review
54 | Media Review
56 | Qualitative Research: Interviews
59 | Endnotes
51
4
Contents
A
In This Section:
4
Introduction
9
Summarized Methodology
Introduction
Introduction
I
n 2005, Canada introduced legislation prohibiting
human tracking, yet trackers continue to reap large
prots by exploiting people for their own gain across Canada.
Between 2009 and 2018, police services across Canada
reported 1,708 incidents of human tracking; however,
these numbers only represent situations of tracking
which received police intervention.
1
Testimonies from
individuals with lived experience and social service providers
suggest that the actual number of victims and survivors is
signicantly higher.
2
Human tracking violates the human rights of victims and survivors, and
one of the ways that trackers operate is by controlling the movements of the
person they are exploiting. This report focuses on the element of movement
and transportation in human tracking by investigating human tracking
corridors in Canada.
Anecdotal evidence from law enforcement, frontline service delivery agencies
and the media have pointed to the existence of human tracking corridors
through which individuals are routinely moved for the purpose of exploitation.
However, it is important to note that human tracking does not necessarily
involve the transportation and movement of persons. Many people in Canada
continue to confuse human tracking with international border smuggling.
In reality, human smuggling and human tracking are very dierent crimes,
and a person may be forced or manipulated into an exploitative situation
without ever leaving their home community.
Movement along human tracking corridors can be a signicant aspect of the
exploitation experienced by survivors. It may impact intervention opportunities
from service providers, law enforcement and members of the public, and the
needs and experiences of survivors when they escape or exit the tracking
situation. Although transportation can be a core aspect of survivors'
exploitation, this is the rst research in Canada that investigates how
tracking corridors operate.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
4
Introduction
Guiding Research Questions
Given that control of movement and transportation are core components
of exploitation for many victims and survivors of human tracking in Canada,
the Canadian Centre to End Human Tracking (The Centre) conducted this
research project to investigate the role of corridors in human tracking, and
the distribution of corridors around the country.
For the purposes of this research, we dened human tracking corridors as
strips of land or transportation routes that include two or more major cities,
that are used by trackers to move individuals between sites of commercial
exploitation. In the context of sex tracking, victims are transported between
commercial sex markets.
3
In addition to connecting multiple population centres,
human tracking corridors may extend across large geographic areas.
Given the lack of pre-existing evidence on this topic, the scope of the research
was exploratory in nature and aimed to establish a baseline of knowledge on
human tracking corridors, as well as opportunities for future research and
advocacy. The primary questions that guided this research were:
What types of public and/or private
spaces are being used throughout
the corridor? (E.g., motels, hotels,
truck stops, schools, social services,
main streets, parks).
Where are human tracking
corridors located in Canada?
What jurisdictions do they
intersect with? (E.g., municipal,
provincial, Indigenous territories,
U.S. and/or other countries).
What types of tracking are
taking place? (E.g., labour or
sex tracking, specic types of
sex and/or labour tracking).
What are some of the key
characteristics of trackers
and those being tracked?
What transportation methods
are being used? (E.g., personal
vehicle, bus, train, plane, hitch-
hiking, rideshare services).
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
5
Introduction
The Canadian Centre to End Human Tracking
The Centre is a national charity dedicated to ending all types of human
tracking in Canada. Our organization focuses on four priority areas:
public education and awareness, research and data collection, convening
and knowledge transfer, and policy development and advocacy. We work
with like-minded stakeholders and organizations, including non-prots,
corporations, governments and survivors/victims of human tracking, to
advance best practices, eliminate duplicate eorts across Canada, and
enable cross-sectoral coordination by providing access to networks and
specialized skills.
We operate the Canadian Human Tracking Hotline, a 24/7, multilingual
access to a safe and condential space to ask for help, connect to
services, and report tips to law enforcement. While The Hotline provides
localized and immediate supports to victims and survivors, it also enables
the compiling of data to help disrupt tracking networks.
Over time, The Hotline’s data will provide an evidence base of human
tracking incidents, geographical locations and types of tracking across
Canada. This data will be critical in the ght to end tracking. At the time
of writing this report, The Hotline had not collected enough data to be
able to present ndings on human tracking corridors.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
6
Introduction
Terms and Denitions
Throughout this report, when referring to individuals who have experienced
human tracking, we use the terms “victim” and “survivor.” The term victim
is used when the act of tracking in persons is ongoing, whereas survivor
describes a person who has escaped or exited the tracking situation, and may
have started a healing process.
4
We recognize that victimization and survivorship
are not mutually exclusive terms or experiences, and that individuals who have
experienced exploitation may prefer one term over another in order to describe
their experiences.
Use of a common denition of human tracking is critical to increasing our
knowledge of how this crime occurs in Canada. To promote consistent data
gathering and analysis, both in this report and in our other initiatives, we rely
on the Canadian Criminal Code which denes human tracking as recruiting,
transporting, transferring, receiving, holding, concealing or harbouring a person,
or exercising control, direction or inuence over the movements of a person,
to facilitate their exploitation.
5
For the purposes of this legislation, a person exploits another person if they
cause them to provide, or oer to provide, a labour or service by engaging in
conduct that could be expected to cause the other person to believe that their
safety, or the safety of a person known to them, would be threatened if they
failed to provide the labour or service.
6
When determining whether exploitation is taking place, Canadian courts
consider whether the accused used or threatened to use force or another
form of coercion, used deception, abused a position of trust, power or
authority, or concealed or withheld travel or identity documents in order
to exploit another person.
The Canadian Criminal Code denition of human tracking is sometimes
referred to as the Action-Relationship-Purpose (ARP) Model. This model
breaks human tracking down into three main components, including action
components such as recruiting or concealing a victim of tracking, relational
components such as exercising control over a victim, and a purpose
of exploitation, which refers to compelling a person to provide a labour
or service. These three components work together to dene the crime
of human tracking in Canada.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
7
Introduction
Action Relationship Purpose Indicators
Key Reporting
Details
Recruits
or
Transports
or
Transfers
or
Receives
or
Holds
or
Conceals
or
Habours.
Control
or
Direction
or
Inuence on the
movements
of a person.
Purpose of
causing them to
provide labour or
service.
Their safety
would be
threatened if they
failed to provide,
the labour or
service.
Use of force,
threats touse
force.
Coercion,
deception, abuse
of a position of
trust, power or
authority.
Withholding travel
documents.
Details of
the victim.
Details of
the location.
Nature of the
business/
suspicious activity.
Details of the
tracking
situation.
Details of who
are involved.
OR
Action-Relationship-Purpose (ARP) Model of Human Tracking
Types of Human Tracking in Canada
Research conducted to date reveals two overarching types of human
tracking in Canada: sex tracking and labour tracking.
7
Drawing on research
conducted in Canada and the United States,
8
the various sectors, business
models, tactics, methods and characteristics involved for each type can be
broken down as follows:
Human tracking typology
Sex tracking
Escort services Domestic work Restaurants &
food services
Illicit massage
Residential
sex tracking
Personal sexual
servitude (includes
survival sex)
Outdoor solicitation Agriculture Health and beauty
services
Pornography Construction Hotels & hospitality
Remote interactive
sexual acts
Landscaping Commercial
cleaning services
Labour tracking
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
8
Introduction
Summarized
Methodology
I
n undertaking this research, we conducted three lines
of inquiry to better understand how human tracking
corridors operate in Canada: a literature review, a media
review, and qualitative research (interviews with service
providers and law enforcement).
See Appendix B for
full methodology.
We reviewed more than 85 articles and reports from academic institutions,
government, and community-based agencies to explore themes related
to human tracking in Canada and North America. We then conducted a
systematic scan of human tracking media coverage in Canada, analyzing
more than 1,800 search results, including 267 unique news articles, to better
understand the following:
To what extent are human tracking corridors understood and reported
on in the mainstream media?
Where have human tracking corridors been identied already?
While research on human tracking in Canada is increasing, the literature
review and media scan did not produce enough meaningful data to come to any
rm conclusions in response to our research questions. To develop a robust
understanding of how and where human tracking corridors operate, we held
69 semi-structured key informant telephone interviews with frontline service
delivery sta and law enforcement ocers, from nine provinces, with direct
experience working with victims and/or survivors of human tracking.
We ensured that a consistent denition of human tracking was used
throughout the interviews (see Terms and Denitions), and in the case of
sex tracking, interview respondents were able to dierentiate between
human tracking and legal sex work.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
9
Introduction
Past research has shown that sex tracking and commercial sex are
interconnected;
9
however, the proportion of human tracking within Canada’s
commercial sex markets is unknown. We took precautions throughout this
research not to conate all aspects of the commercial sex market with sex
tracking by using clear denitions distinguishing between tracking and legal
activity within the sex industry in which the person providing sexual services
is free from coercion and fear.
We conducted semi-structured interviews using an interview guide that
was developed using best practices in similar research projects identied
through the literature review. We provided interviewees with an overview of
the research project, and each participant provided consent at the beginning
of the interview. We continued to conduct interviews until we reached a level
of saturation, meaning that additional interviews no longer yielded new
information. We conducted a thematic analysis of the data to identify trends
among interview responses.
Law enforcement respondents
We interviewed 20 law enforcement respondents spanning 20 jurisdictions.
The vast majority (70%) of law enforcement interviewees were from municipal
services followed by RCMP (25%) and provincial agencies (5%).
Ocers interviewed came from a range of units responsible for human
tracking les including Vice, Guns and Gangs, Special Victims and
Counter-exploitation:
30% of respondents worked specically in human tracking units
70% of units were responsible for investigation of crimes not specic
to human tracking
95% of respondents conrmed that they had worked directly with at least
one victim/survivor of human tracking
Law enforcement respondents tended to work with fewer victims/survivors
of human tracking than those at frontline agencies. This is likely due to
two factors:
Victims/survivors may fear or distrust law enforcement
Identication and assessment of victims may vary between
law enforcement and frontline service providers.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
10
Introduction
Service provider respondents
We interviewed 49 service providers spanning 38 jurisdictions. The vast
majority (88%) of service provider participants were from frontline agencies
that work directly with victims/survivors of human tracking (82%). The
majority (61%) were program managers or coordinators who reviewed case les,
oversaw frontline sta or worked directly with survivors of human tracking as
part of their roles. Other respondents included Executive Directors (35%) and
Caseworkers (4%).
Of the agencies interviewed, 43% provide human tracking-specic programs
or services. The remainder of interviewees were either government department
representatives (7%) tasked with overseeing human tracking strategies, or
umbrella organizations/associations (6%) that did not provide direct services
to clients. While these organizations were limited in their ability to speak to the
individual needs and circumstances of human tracking victims and survivors,
they were credible sources of information on trends and broader issues faced
by victims and survivors and frontline delivery agencies.
Research Limitations
The Centre’s work encompasses both sex and labour tracking. However,
this report focuses on the types of sex tracking that apply to human tracking
corridors because our research was not able to conclude that the corridors are
being systematically used to propagate labour tracking in Canada. The Centre
looks forward to undertaking future research that will shed light on experiences
and trends in labour tracking, as well as other typologies of human tracking.
By its very nature, human tracking is a covert activity. Because sex tracking
is often hidden, dicult to detect, and frequently stigmatized, many victims and
survivors may never disclose their experiences to a frontline service provider or
law enforcement. As a result, the insights and perspectives shared by frontline
service providers in this research may not reect all forms of human tracking
occurring along corridors.
In the future, as data collection on human tracking grows across Canada,
it may be possible to more accurately identify the frequency with which
exploited individuals are transported along specic corridors. Since such
data does not currently exist, we have relied on the insights and perspectives
provided by interviewees to understand how human tracking corridors
operate within Canada.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
11
B
13
How Human Tracking
Corridors Operate
14
The Economics of Human
Tracking Corridors
17
Types of Sex Tracking
19
Characteristics of Victims and
Survivors of Sex Tracking
23
Characteristics of Trackers
In This Section:
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
How Human Tracking
Corridors Operate
H
uman tracking corridors are a distinctive component
of how human tracking operates in Canada; however,
they are only one piece of the puzzle. Not everyone who has
experienced human tracking has been moved through these
corridors and, for those who have, it may only be one part of
their experience.
Trackers use corridors
for three main reasons:
To obtain as much prot as possible
To lower risks since movement across
municipal and provincial jurisdictions
makes it harder for law enforcement to
detect, investigate and pursue human
tracking cases
To maintain control over the individuals
they are exploiting by reinforcing their
social and physical isolation and keeping
them confused and dependent.
1
2
3
The corridors identied in this report do not exist for the sole purpose of human
tracking. In fact, these primary transportation routes across Canada are used
for many purposes including transporting people and goods to various markets.
Along these corridors, trackers often use smaller circuits: regular tours around
an assigned district or territory.
10
They move victims along these circuits to
access markets where they can maximize prots according to market demand;
saturation (i.e., the number of “sellers” relative to “buyers); and the overhead
costs of operation for each population centre (e.g., hotel, motel or short term
stay, travel costs).
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
13
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
The Economics of Human Tracking Corridors
A key component of human tracking in Canada, and specically along
transportation routes, is the economic drive that underpins human tracking.
While many social and economic factors enable the existence of sex tracking
in Canada, the primary driver is money. Unlike other forms of sexual, physical and
psychological abuse, human tracking operates under a clear business model.
It functions within an economic market where the primary motivation of
trackers is to generate as much prot as possible. Our research indicates
that trackers utilize human tracking corridors to strategically maximize
prots and mitigate the risks associated with operations.
Maximizing Prot within a Competitive
Commerical Sex Market
On an economic level, human trackers operate under the same logic as any
other for-prot business in Canada. Their goal is to generate as much revenue
as possible while keeping their operational costs low so as to maximize prot
margins. Human tracking is fundamentally about prot seeking but, in contrast
to legal businesses, it circumvents the law and robs individuals of their human
rights. Trackers are known to hold and control the money received through
victims’ interactions with the commercial sex industry. They force and coerce
individuals into the sex industry and keep all of the revenue, which is the key
driver of their prot.
Revenue
($ received through the
sale of goods/services)
Operational costs
($ spent on enabling the
commercial transaction)
Prot
(Minus)
Persons tracked along human tracking corridors are largely advertised
through online escort ads, notably Leolist.cc. While determining the average cost
of commercial sex services was outside the scope of this research, a preliminary
scan of Leolist.cc shows that trackers can reasonably obtain $200-$400/hour
from each commercial sex exchange.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
14
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
The one hour price for “full service” will go from
$160-180 per hour in Montreal, but in Edmonton, they can
get $200-$300 for the same service. Trackers picked
up on this, and are sending them out for a week or so.
– Law enforcement respondent on human tracking corridors
Quotas are often imposed on sex tracking victims, and anecdotal evidence
suggests that they range between $500 and $1,000 per day. While overhead
expenses such as food, accommodation, clothing/makeup and travel do factor
into a tracker’s expenses, they are easily absorbed due to high net prot
margins resulting from the withholding of all revenues from the individual(s)
they are exploiting.
Interview respondents explained that trackers stay in a given city as long as
it is protable (anywhere from one night to several weeks) and they are not
detected by law enforcement. Entry into online commercial sex markets is
relatively cheap and easy. Trackers often post ads on behalf of the individuals
they are exploiting and manage every aspect of the exchange including location,
what sexual services will be provided and for what price, and the number of
buyers a victim must see.
Minimizing Risks
Human tracking, like other businesses, requires mitigating risks to ensure
stable and continuous operations. Because human tracking is an illegal activity,
the risks associated with business operations are signicant. In Canada, anyone
who is found guilty of human tracking is liable to “a) imprisonment for life and
to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of ve years if they kidnap,
commit an aggravated assault or aggravated sexual assault against, or cause
death to, the victim during the commission of the oence; or b) imprisonment for
a term of not more than 14 years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment
for a term of four years in any other case.”
11
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
15
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
To avoid being caught and potentially imprisoned, trackers have adopted
ways of operating that reduce risk by circumventing and evading the law
altogether. Consistently moving from place to place — between hotels,
houses, cities or provinces — helps avoid detection from law enforcement
and compliance with laws that would ultimately lower their prot and/or
jeopardize their ‘business’ altogether.
To reduce the risk that victims and survivors will leave them or report them to
law enforcement, trackers consistently move between cities and provinces
in an eort to maintain psychological control. Travel can keep people confused,
isolated and dependent on their trackers. Several interview respondents
provided accounts of victims and survivors who were unable to tell what cities
they had been tracked in because their trackers withheld information and
intentionally kept them confused about their geographic locations.
Moreover, trackers maintain strong psychological control over the individuals
they are exploiting, which can also reduce the need to use physical violence,
which in turn helps maintain high revenues and larger prot margins. “High-
end” commercial sex generates far higher revenue and rates than other forms
of commercial sex work, such as street-based sex work. Buyers are willing to
pay more because the ”seller” passes as being there willingly and conforms to
mainstream ideas of beauty and sexual attractiveness. Avoiding physical injury
or abuse is a central strategy used by trackers to maintain their business and
obtain the highest possible revenue per service.
The shorter amount of time spent in each city, the more
benecial it is for the trackers. It takes time for police
to set up an investigation. If they are only in town for a
couple of days, it’s harder to track.
– Law enforcement respondent on human tracking corridors
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
16
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Types of Sex Tracking
We asked interview respondents about types of tracking, including incidents
of sex and labour tracking, of which they had received rst-hand accounts
from victims and survivors. Interviewees mentioned the following types of known
sex tracking:
12
Escort services: These commercial sex acts primarily occur at temporary
indoor locations, such as hotels/motels, and are often arranged through
internet ads. Escort services were by far the most frequently mentioned type
of sex tracking by interviewees.
Illicit massage: The primary business of sex tracking and commercial sex
exchange is concealed under the façade of legitimate spa services.
Outdoor solicitation: Individuals are forced to nd commercial sex
customers in outdoor locations.
Residential sex tracking: Individuals are forced or coerced into
commercial sex acts at a non-commercial residential location, such as
a private/family home, or a drug distribution home (e.g., a “trap house”).
Pornography: Individuals are forced or coerced to participate in
pre-recorded sexually explicit videos and images.
Personal sexual servitude: Individuals are forced or coerced into providing
sexual acts/services in exchange for something of value. In these cases, the
tracker and the “buyer” are usually the same person. Examples include
survival sex, the permanent selling of a victim through a single transaction,
or within a forced marriage.
Remote interactive sexual acts: Individuals are forced or coerced to
participate in live streamed, interactive simulated sex acts or “shows”,
such as webcams, text-based chats or phone chat lines.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
17
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
When interviewees were asked about the sectors or types of tracking engaged
with specically along human tracking corridors, over half of service providers
and 90% of law enforcement ocers interviewed reported the widespread
use of escort services. Although other tracking typologies emerged from the
interviews, they were not identied as using human tracking corridors. This is
likely because other forms of sex tracking, such as illicit massage, pornography
and personal sexual servitude, may rely on the tracker having a stable location
for exploitation to occur.
Law enforcement responses
Types of sex tracking identied by service provider
and law enforment interview respondents
Service providers responses
Escort services Illicit massge Strip clubs Sex work
(details not specied)
Outdoor soliciation Residential sex tracking Pornography Personal sex servitude
Remote interactive
sexual acts
Mining camps Other
90%
55%
15%
12%
0%
2%
0%
2%
0%
2%
0%
4%
0%
14%
30%
31%
30%
29%
50%
24%
0%
4%
Figure 1: Interview responses to the following question: "What specic sectors are the survivors/
victims working in? Prompt for exotic dancers, sex workers, body rubbers, etc. or in the case of labour
tracking, hospitality, cleaning, domestic work etc." Responses do not add up to 100% because they
are not mutually exclusive.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
18
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Characteristics of Victims and Survivors of Sex Tracking
Women and girls of Canadian nationality make up the vast majority of sex
tracking victims and survivors identied by frontline service agencies and law
enforcement. Only a small proportion of law enforcement (10%) and service
provider respondents (16%) reported having previously worked with male or
trans-identied survivors.
Other socio-demographic characteristics are diverse among victims and
survivors. Interview respondents said that most of the victims and survivors
that they had worked with were under the age of 35, but the overall age range
was between 12 and 50. Victims and survivors aged 18-24 were the most
common age group reported by interviewees. Approximately half of interviewees
indicated that they had worked with a victim or survivor under the age of 18.
16%
89%
100%
16%
5%
47%
55%
57%
60%
37%
30%
16%
10%
84%
85%
2%
0%
20%
20%
10%
Law enforcement responses
Demographic characteristics of human tracking caseloads
among interview respondents
Service providers responses
Male Female
Gender Age Nationality
Other Under 18 18-24 25-34 35+ Canadian American Other
Figure 2: Interview responses
to the following question:
“Can you tell me about
some of the demographic
characteristics of people being
tracked?” Prompts included
for gender, age and country of
origin. Responses do not add
up to 100 because responses
were not mutually exclusive.
Interviewees who had worked with non-Canadian victims and survivors
identied the following regions of origin: Asia (China, Korea); Russia; Africa
(Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Congo); South Asia; Central America (Colombia);
Philippines; Middle East; and Europe (Hungary).
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
19
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
The vast majority
of individuals
tracked in the
commercial sex
industry are
Canadian women
and girls
Respondents identied the following key characteristics of survivors:
prior or current involvement with the child welfare system
living in, or prior experience living in poverty
experiencing homelessness and/or precarious housing
history of substance abuse/addictions issues
history of trauma, abuse and/or domestic or sexual violence.
Individuals who are exploited within commercial sex markets, and who are
tracked along transportation routes, originate from communities across the
country. About a quarter of respondents (25% of law enforcement, 27% of
service providers) indicated that they had worked with survivors who were
local to the community in which they were exploited. In contrast, 40% of law
enforcement and 45% of service provider respondents worked with survivors
from another city within the same province.
Where are victims/survivors coming from?
Migration patterns of victims and survivors of human tracking
Coming from another province
Coming from another country
Coming from another city
within the province
Victims are local but
still being tracked
Survivors are local having
been tracked elsewhere
and have returned home
Coming from reserve
Don’t know/no response
Other
Law enforcement responses
20%
0%
0%
0%
10%
45%
40%
25%
Service providers responses
18%
14%
4%
4%
20%
45%
27%
2%
Figure 3: Interview responses
to the following question:
“Have you noticed any
trends in terms of where
victims are coming from?"
Prompt for whether they are
from the area, from another
city, province or country."
Responses do not add up to
100% because responses
were not mutually exclusive.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
20
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Among respondents, 45% of law enforcement and 21% of service providers
reported working with survivors who originated from another province.
Ontario and Quebec were the most commonly reported provinces of origin.
Law enforcement responses
Where are victims/survivors coming from?
Province of origin of victim and survivors of human tracking
Service providers responses
ON
NS
QC
AB
BC
MB
NB
55%
27%
2%
4%
5%
SK
Ontario
Manitoba
50%
20%
Quebec
20%
14%
British Columbia
5%
8%
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
8%
10%
8%
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Figure 4: Interview responses to the following question: “Have you noticed any trends in terms of
where victims are coming from? Prompt for whether they are from the area, from another city, province
or country." Responses do not add up to 100% because responses were not mutually exclusive.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
21
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Although identifying human tracking is challenging, law enforcement
respondents mentioned several indicators used to assess whether someone
may be a potential victim:
a lack of identication since trackers often withhold the victim’s
identication as a way to control them
confusion, disorientation or a lack of knowledge about where they are
signs of fear or intimidation by the potential tracker, e.g., unwilling to make
eye contact, not allowed to speak for themselves.
A Note on Indigenous Women and Girls
Previous research in Canada has indicated that Indigenous women and girls
are more likely to experience commercial sexual exploitation compared to other
demographic groups.
13,14
In the current research, 53% of service providers
and 40% of law enforcement respondents indicated that they had worked
with survivors identifying as Indigenous. When asked to provide estimated
breakdowns of their overall caseloads, however, the vast majority stressed that
Indigenous victims and survivors did not represent a signicant proportion of
their cases.
When we asked our participants about the experiences of Indigenous
victims and survivors, we heard that they were not tracked through escort
services or transported through human tracking corridors to the same
extent as other demographic groups. Rather, Indigenous women and girls
are more likely to experience tracking after travelling to urban centres from
rural communities for reasons unrelated to exploitation, such as for medical
appointments, to begin school, or seek employment opportunities. Once in an
unfamiliar urban area, Indigenous women and girls may be preyed upon by
trackers, or they may engage in survival sex to meet their basic needs,
such as access to food and shelter.
Although our research did not corroborate previous ndings that show a higher
incidence of sex tracking among Indigenous women and girls, we cannot
conclude that this group is not over-represented among all human tracking
victims and survivors in Canada. Further research is required to understand
how human tracking impacts Indigenous women and girls.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
22
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Characteristics of Trackers
Dierent types of trackers operate within each type of tracking in Canada.
Tracker types can be understood according to the methods they use to
track people, and the business models under which they operate.
Respondents mentioned the following types of trackers:
Drug dealer
6%
10%
14%
10%
Family member
24%
5%
Forced
marriage
4%
2%
Bottom
6%
15%
Peer/friend
Body rub/
illicit massage
parlour owner/
operator
Law enforcement responses
Types of trackers identied
Service providers responses
49%
50%
Organized crime/
gang member
Boyfriend tracker/
“Romeo Pimp”
55%
45%
Figure 5: Interview responses to the following question: “Can you tell me about some of the
demographic characteristics of the trackers? How are the victims/survivors being recruited?”
Prompts included for gender, age and gang or group aliation. Responses do not add up to 100
because responses were not mutually exclusive.
Respondents most commonly associated movement along human tracking
corridors and circuits with boyfriend trackers/Romeo pimps and gang-aliated
trackers. Romeo pimps/boyfriend trackers tend to introduce psychological
and physical abuse over time, making the victim believe they are consenting
to their own exploitation and abuse (see How boyfriend trackers control and
coerce their victims).
15
Romeo pimps position themselves as boyfriends and
enter what look like consensual intimate partnerships with individuals before
convincing or coercing them into the industry.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
23
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Respondents also identied a strong interplay between gang-related trackers
and Romeo-style pimps. Many found it dicult to determine whether gang
members use Romeo pimp techniques to maintain a strong psychological hold
on victims to track them as part of the gang’s criminal activities, or if Romeo
pimps are also actually gang-aliated, but not necessarily tracking on behalf
of their gang.
Many respondents noted that while victims and survivors may mention gang
aliation as part of their experience, they rarely disclose details about which
gangs are most aliated with human tracking.
Who are the Trackers?
We asked interviewees to comment on any trends pertaining to the identities of
the trackers. While service providers may hear about trackers’ characteristics
from survivors, they rarely engage with trackers directly. Law enforcement
respondents often gain a better understanding of who trackers are through
their investigations; however, they can struggle to earn the same level of trust
and discretion that service providers can build with their clients.
The vast majority of respondents described trackers as male (84% of service
providers, 90% of law enforcement). However, 40% of law enforcement and 39%
of service provider respondents said they had worked with victims and survivors
tracked by other women.
No single age range or ethnic group is commonly associated with tracking.
Responses to this question varied greatly across interviews, and were broadly
reective of demographics in Canada and the geographic locations of
respondents.
The most common characteristic of trackers is that they are able to assess and
manipulate vulnerability to their own benet; that ability transcends class, ethnic
and gender boundaries.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
24
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
1. Targeting
and Luring
2. Grooming
and gaming
3. Coercion and
manipulation
4. Exploitation
and control
How Boyfriend Trackers Control and Coerce Their Victims
Our research indicates that “boyfriend” trackers often utilize transportation
routes to prot from victims, as well as, keep them disoriented and dependent.
Moving victims through human tracking corridors and circuits, however, is just
one tactic that boyfriend trackers use to control and exploit individuals. These
trackers control their victims in four stages:
Targeting and luring
In this stage, trackers seek and identify potential victims who are
vulnerable to control and manipulation. They look for people with low
self-esteem, who may have problems at home, be in the child welfare
system, or have emotional, developmental or substance abuse issues.
Trackers target individuals by surveilling social media for young
people showing signs of low self-esteem, loneliness and lack of
support, or spaces where vulnerable youth tend to frequent including
homeless shelters, youth drop-in programs, malls, group homes and
foster care homes.
16
1
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
25
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Grooming and gaming
Trackers use deceit and fraudulent role play to create a sense of
dependency, trust and intimacy with people.
17
They may romance
someone by buying gifts and spending money, or by taking the time
to ask them about their dreams, aspirations and goals.
18
Trackers
specically target individuals who have never experienced this type
of positive emotional armation before. This helps them gain trust
while incrementally isolating individuals from family and friends.
A tracker will oer potential victims anything to make them feel
loved, appreciated, safe and accepted, and then use that to put a
wedge between them and their support network. Another tactic that
trackers may use during this stage is substance dependence, by
encouraging substance use, or providing an ample supply of drugs
and/or alcohol.
Coercion and manipulation
In this stage, trackers start to send mixed messages to victims.
They begin withholding things they previously gave to make them feel
loved, appreciated and cared for, such as emotional intimacy, physical
aection, alcohol or drugs, and money or gifts. They also use the
information they have gained about the potential victim to manipulate
them to act in a certain way.
Boyfriend trackers often desensitize individuals to sexual acts they
may otherwise be uncomfortable doing. They may tell victims that
they owe the tracker for everything given during the grooming
and gaming stage. They may also say that commercial sex work is a
viable, easy way for victims to make quick money to pay their debts.
Trackers may also manipulate the goals and aspirations of the
individual they are seeking to exploit, and mislead them into believing
that commercial sex work is a short-term sacrice needed to build a
better life – that selling sex for a short time will be their ticket out.
2
3
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
26
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
This stage may also include normalizing or glamorizing the
commercial sex industry. In some cases, trackers may use peers
to introduce victims to the industry. Individuals may initially consent
to engaging in commercial sexual activities because they feel it is
within their control and that they are doing so voluntarily. Trackers
may also start isolating a potential victim from family and friends,
and use psychological or emotional manipulation to foster a distrust
of authorities.
Exploitation and control
In the exploitation and control phase, a tracker will likely have
complete control over identity documents, cellphones, movements
and money of the individual(s) they are exploiting. Individuals may
be fully reliant on the tracker to provide all of their basic needs,
such as housing, food, clothing and drugs and alcohol. Withholding
drugs and alcohol is a powerful tactic among victims who
experience addiction or dependence on a substance.
During this stage, trackers threaten individuals to perform
commercial sexual acts on their behalf. The tracker may extort
victims by threatening to share intimate pictures, as a way to
leverage and coerce them into the commercial sex industry. Victims
and survivors are often afraid of speaking out against their tracker
because of the risk of violence to themselves or others, deportation
or signicant interpersonal risks.
Once a tracker enters the exploitation and control stage, victims
may start to realize that they are not actually in a loving, supportive
or safe relationship. By keeping victims isolated from friends, family
and support networks, trackers make them doubt themselves
and prevent them from getting positive reinforcement and support.
Trackers may also use psychological tools such as gaslighting
to make an individual feel they are the cause of their own
unhappiness, or that they have no reasonable claim to be unhappy
in the rst place.
19
4
* Gaslighting is a subtle and covert type of emotional and psychological abuse that involves
a variety of manipulative techniques to make a target undermine their own sense of reality
and mental stability.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
27
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
The Geography of Human Tracking Corridors and Circuits
Human tracking corridors exist in nearly every province/territory in Canada,
with the notable exception of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. While
both human tracking and demand for commercial sex services do exist in
Northern regions, the limited transportation infrastructure means that trackers
cannot move victims quickly and eciently between population centres and
commercial sex markets. The conditions required to enable human tracking
corridors simply do not exist in these smaller markets with comparatively less
demand but higher overhead costs associated with travel.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
ON
NS
QC
AB
BC
NB
SK
MB
Hudson Bay
Manitoba
SaskatchewanAlberta
British
Columbia
Ontario
Quebec
New Brunswick
Nova Scotia
Labrador Sea
United States
Land corridors DestinationsAir corridors
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
28
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Intra-provincial Corridors
Our research indicates that intra-provincial corridors connect cities and
commercial sex markets in a single province. These geographically short circuits
are easy to travel by car. They may also connect to much smaller commercial sex
markets on the way to larger markets, staying a day or two in even the smallest
towns if they can arrange enough commercial sexual exchanges to make it
protable for trackers.
Ontario’s Hwy 401 Corridor
Ontario’s 401 Highway connects Montreal, QC and Windsor, ON.
Between these two end points, there are several populous urban
centres. Trackers may operate along the entire 401 corridor, or
capitalize on movement through a densely populated region,
such as the Greater Toronto Area.
Sarnia
Windsor
Chatham-Kent
London
Kitchener
Guelph
Hamilton
Mississauga
Toronto
Peterborough
Belleville
Kingston
Ottawa
Cornwall
Montreal
Oshawa
Barrie
Owen Sound
Lake Ontario
Lake Erie
Lake Huron
United States
Ontario
Quebec
401 Highway corridor Commercial sex marketsMajor roads
Example
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
29
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Calgary – Edmonton – Fort McMurray/Grande Prairie
Alberta’s human tracking corridors connect the province’s largest
online commercial sex markets, while also accessing markets aliated
with extraction work camps in Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie.
Interview respondents commented that this corridor is used by
both trackers local to Alberta and those from outside the province,
notably from Ontario and Quebec. A growing trend in this corridor is
the number of victims and survivors from Quebec who speak little to
no English. Not only do language barriers serve as another method of
control, but it is also believed that sex buyers see women from
Quebec as exotic and novel.
Grande Prairie
Edmonton
Lloydminster
Calgary
Ban
National Park
Of Canada
Jasper
National Park
Of Canada
Peace River
Athabasca
St. Paul
Drumheller
RedDeer
Canmore
Bonnyville
Cold Lake
Fort McMurray
Alberta
Saskatchewan
British Columbia
Corridors Major roads
Destinations
Example
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
30
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Inter-provincial corridors
Our research indicates that inter-provincial corridors occur when trackers
transport victims across provinces to access various commercial sex markets.
They are largely organized around accessing the most competitive and highest
paying markets. Because of the additional operational costs associated with
ying or driving long distances, inter-provincial corridors tend to run between
large urban centres with large markets.
Once a tracker and victims arrive in a new province, they may stay and
capitalize on the major urban commercial sex market in the city of arrival,
or they may access other intra-provincial corridors within that province.
Canada’s West Coast Circuit
The Quebec – Alberta corridor was one of the most commonly identied
by interviewees, with a noticeable trend in the tracking of young women
from Quebec in central and western Canada, most notably Alberta.
Law enforcement respondents specically noted the tracking of victims
from Montreal to Calgary by airplane. Victims either travel with their
trackers, or may travel alone and are met by trackers or an associate
upon arrival in Alberta. Trackers and victims may stay in Calgary and
arrange for commercial sex interactions in hotels near the airport or
downtown, or trackers may move victims along the intra-provincial
corridor between Calgary and Fort McMurray.
Example
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British
Columbia
Ontario
Quebec
United States
Edmonton
Calgary
Fort McMurray
Saskatoon
Regina
Vancouver
Grande
Prairie
Winnipeg
Toronto
Ottawa
Montreal
Quebec
City
Land corridors DestinationsMajor roads
Air corridors
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
31
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
The Trans-Canada Highway
Our research ndings conrm previous anecdotes about the scope
and scale of sex tracking in Canada. Tracking occurs where there
is a highway and access to the internet. The Trans-Canada highway
in particular functions as a corridor that connects to commercial sex
markets within all provinces, and across the country.
Highways 11 & 17 Northern Ontario – Winnipeg, Manitoba
Trackers use Highways 11 & 17 to move victims from Sudbury and
Thunder Bay through Northern Ontario and to connect to the online
commercial sex market in Winnipeg. While the “payo” may not be as
large as in other parts of Canada due to the long distance between
smaller online commercial sex markets, trackers view the low
population density and relative remoteness of these highways
as a benet in eorts to avoid detection by law enforcement.
Manitoba
Ontario
United States
Winnipeg
Thunder Bay
Sudbury
Sault Ste.
Marie
Lake Superior
Land corridors
Destinations
Major roads
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British
Columbia
Ontario
Calgary
Vancouver
Regina
Saskatoon
Red Deer
Brandon
Winnipeg
United States
Land corridors DestinationsMajor roads
Examples
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
32
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Halifax, Nova Scotia – Moncton, New Brunswick
Within Atlantic Canada, the stretch of the Trans-Canada
Highway between Halifax and Moncton was the most frequently
mentioned by interviewees, and well-known human tracking
corridor. Trackers go to Moncton not only to connect to the
online commercial sex market, but also to access the commercial
markets in strip clubs. Strip clubs operate in New Brunswick
but are not legally permitted in Nova Scotia.
Land corridorsMajor roads Destinations
Moncton
Halifax
Amherst
Saint John
Bay of Fundy
Truro
Dartmouth
New Glasgow
Port
Hawkesbury
Cape Breton
Island
New
Brunswick
Novascotia
Prince
Edward
Island
Example
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
33
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Methods of Transportation
Cars are by far the most frequently used method of travel in human tracking
corridors, especially along circuits. The overhead costs associated with driving
are lower than for air travel, and trackers can be nimble and adjust travel routes
according to demand for commercial sexual services.
Law enforcement respondents stressed how rental cars are used to avoid
detection and evade law enforcement. Trackers often rent multiple cars at
various stages of a corridor to make identication more dicult. Renting vehicles
with fake identication makes it even more challenging for law enforcement to
track the movements and actions of trackers. Using the names of victims and
survivors when renting cars helps control and coerce victims into commercial
sex. For example, trackers may threaten to damage or withhold the rental
car, resulting in potential charges against the victim, unless the victim does
as they are told.
Airplanes are also used to transport victims along human tracking
corridors, primarily when a signicant distance exists between markets/cities
along the corridor, and there are limited market stops between the rst and
nal destination. Flights are used when car travel is either impossible or
very inconvenient.
Law enforcement responses
Methods of transportation used along human tracking corridors
Service providers reponses
Car
(owned by tracker
or not specied)
Rental Car Bus Truck
Public Transit
Plane
57%
65%
2%
40%
20%
65%
4%
15%
2% 2%
Train
2%
20%
Boat
12%
5%
Figure 6: Interview responses
to the following question:
“What mode of travel is used
when they are travelling?
Prompt for personal car, bus,
train, plane, hitch-hiking,
ride shares, taxis etc.”
Responses do not add up to
100% because responses
were not mutually exclusive.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
34
How Human Tracking Corridors Operate
Sites of Exploitation
Most respondents indicated that tracking along corridors took place
through escort services in hotels, motels, short term stays, and private
residences/condos. Despite overhead costs associated with travel, the total
amount of revenue generated by one day of tracking greatly outweighs
the costs of operation.
Law enforcement respondents pointed to a noticeable increase in trackers’
use of short term stays, which can pose challenges to investigations. For hotels
and motels, more opportunities exist to train sta in detecting and reporting
human tracking. Relationships can also be forged with hotel management and
cleaning sta to report to management or call the Canadian Human Tracking
Hotline if they suspect human tracking is taking place.
Short term stays oer fewer opportunities to equip sta with knowledge about
human tracking. The owners and operators may never actually meet the renter,
and trackers may fully remove any signs of human tracking before they leave
the short term stay or the owner returns.
Trackers may also be hard to identify if they are not directly supervising the
individuals they are exploiting. Law enforcement respondents stated that
trackers might be in a separate room from the victim in a hotel, motel or short
term stay, or in the nearby vicinity to arrange calls, schedule purchasers and
collect money.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
35
C
In This Section:
37
Exiting Human Tracking
42
Service Needs and
Systems of intervention
48
Conclusion and
Recommendations
51
Appendices and Endnotes
Exiting Human Tracking
Exiting Human Tracking
W
hy do victims of human tracking not just leave if they are
not being physically restrained, conned or controlled?
Escaping trackers can be psychologically and emotionally
challenging for victims as well as physically dangerous. Trackers
forge strong trauma bonds with the individual(s) they are exploiting
to create a sense of dependency and isolation. Controlling and/or
detaining victims is necessary to continue exploiting them.
20
Control is achieved through emotional, physical and sexual
violence, as well as economic abuse.
21
Constant monitoring and
surveillance, and forging divisions between victims and their
previous support networks (e.g., friends, family, community
members), can make victims feel escape is impossible and
they have nowhere to turn.
22
Barriers to Exiting
Survivors face four mutually reinforcing types of barriers when they attempt
to leave their tracker:
23
Individual: The negative psychosocial impacts of tracking can damage
the sense of self-ecacy that victims require to leave their controller. These
impacts include experiencing trauma, shame, internalized stigma, substance
abuse and mental illness, health issues and a lack of awareness of available
external resources.
Relational: Trackers often intentionally create cleavages between
individuals they are exploiting and their social and support networks.
Strained or limited relationships with family and friends can reinforce
dependence on trackers.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
37
Exiting Human Tracking
Structural: Exiting a human tracking situation requires transitioning
to a dierent kind of life, which ideally is non-exploitative and enables
survivors to actualize their potential. Structural factors aect a victim’s
ability to leave, including barriers to employment, prior criminal records,
educational attainment, ability to maintain housing, staying out of poverty
and achieving economic self-suciency.
Societal: Sex tracking survivors and consensual sex workers face
tremendous stigma as a result of their experiences in the commercial sex
industry. Negative attitudes can result in discrimination against survivors
or further social isolation or stigmatization.
24,25,26
Service providers identied the following barriers that victims and survivors
face in accessing services: stigma, challenges navigating the service system,
addictions, lack of appropriate housing/shelter, lack of emergency services,
lack of trust in the system, fear and safety concerns, lack of trauma-informed
services, and lack of exible services aligned to meet their needs.
Barriers to accessing services, service provider responses
4%
Income support is insucient
39%
Stigma
16%
Addictions
22%
Don’t trust system/hard to build trust
16%
Lack of trauma-informed services
16%
Lack of appropriate housing/shelter
Don’t identify as tracked victim/survivor
8%
10%
Other
16%
Feel/safety concerns
4%
Mental health issues
2%
Trauma bond with tracker
2%
Prior criminal record
Figure 7: Service provider responses to the following question: “What barriers or obstacles do
survivors or victims face when accessing services?" Responses do not add up to 100% because
responses were not mutually exclusive.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
38
Exiting Human Tracking
Law enforcement respondents had a slightly dierent perspective with limited
nancial options/insucient income support (30%) cited most frequently, along
with stigma and addictions. Social assistance rates and provincial minimum
wages provide subsistence income at best and are far less than what victims
would “earn” on any given day. Even though victims are often forced to hand
over their earnings to trackers, the idea of working a minimum wage job or
relying on social assistance presents signicant barriers to exiting.
Figure 8: Law enforcement responses to the following question: “What barriers or obstacles do
survivors or victims face when accessing services?" Responses do not add up to 100% because
responses were not mutually exclusive.
Barriers to accessing services, law enforcement responses
Income support is insucient
Stigma
Addictions
Don’t trust system/hard to build trust
Lack of trauma-informed services
Lack of appropriate housing/shelter
Don’t identify as tracked victim/survivor
15%
15%
15%
15%
15%
20%
20%
30%
Other
Feel/safety concerns
10%
10%
10%
10%
Mental health issues
Trauma bond with tracker
Prior criminal record
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
39
Exiting Human Tracking
The “Cycle of Change”
Research has identied a ve-stage model of change to describe the process
of exiting human tracking relationships:
27
The
Cycle
of
Change
15
24
3
Precontemplation:
person is unaware
there is a problem
and has no intention
of making change.
Maintenance:
if change has persisted
for 6 months or longer,
individuals are in a
maintenance stage.
Here, the ultimate goal
is to avoid relapse.
Contemplation:
person is aware there
is a problem and is
considering change,
but hasn't made any
commitments to do so.
Action:
person makes visible
and overt behaviour
changes, such as
leaving a tracker.
Preparation:
person starts making small changes to their
behaviour with the intention they will make
additional, larger changes in the near future.
These stages are not linear. Victims and survivors may go back and forth
between stages multiple times before they exit or are able to graduate towards
a stage of maintenance.
Trackers use multiple methods to control the individuals they are exploiting and
prevent them from progressing through the stages of the cycle of change.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
40
Exiting Human Tracking
Trackers often leverage the stigma associated with commercial sex work to
prevent victims from reaching out for support or help. Psychological research
has demonstrated the impact of stigma on preventing someone from reaching
out for help.
28,29
Stigma can be understood as the attribution of inferior status
to a person, or group of people, that either have a visible trait that is perceived
to be discrediting (e.g., physical disability) or some perceived moral defect.
30
Individuals who have engaged in the commercial sex industry, either voluntarily
or by force, are among the most stigmatized groups in Western society.
31
While little research exists on the impact of stigma on help-seeking among
survivors of sex tracking, some research does show that individuals who
perceive stigma, or who have been previously discriminated against due to their
imposed stigma, fear rejection and are less likely to seek support directly from
service providers.
32
Instead, stigmatized people are more likely to nd indirect
ways of seeking support, such as dropping hints about a problem when asking
directly for other supports: ”For instance, instead of asking for emotional support
from a friend or a family member, individuals may choose to hint that a problem
exists or act sad without giving details or directly stating reasons for
the sadness.”
33
These factors can be further aggravated when victims are transported along
human tracking corridors and circuits. Moving victims to dierent parts of the
province and/or country makes safety and exit planning even more challenging.
Not knowing where they are, to whom they could go, or how they could safely
leave their tracker makes preparation and action even more dangerous for
victims looking to exit.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
41
Service Needs and Systems of Intervention
Service Needs and
Systems of Intervention
T
o better understand what services survivors require
when exiting tracking, we asked respondents about
survivors’ most urgent needs upon seeking help. Respondents
stressed that, in many cases, survivors often escape their
trackers with little more than the clothes on their backs.
They have multiple layers of trauma and abuse.
They need an entire wrap around model – dental,
tattoo cover up, treatment for addiction, medical care.
One wanted to change their hair colour to be less
recognizable. Domestic violence and sex assault victims
often don't have these needs.
– Service provider respondent on how the needs of
human tracking victims dier from other groups served
Services need to be available immediately once a victim decides to leave,
and access to support needs to have as few rules attached as possible.
Making access to support conditional on other actions, such as reporting
to law enforcement, can cause signicant barriers for victims and survivors.
The severe threat of violence coupled with the tremendous psychological
manipulation and control associated with tracking requires an immediate and
eective response embracing a harm-reduction approach. Service providers
need to meet all basic needs of survivors including housing/shelter, food, clothes,
medical care, emotional support and cell phones/communication tools.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
42
Service Needs and Systems of Intervention
Barriers to accessing services are not mutually exclusive: victims and survivors
may experience multiple barriers concurrently or separately. Service providers
also spoke to the complexity of care needs. Victims and survivors can present
with multiple immediate needs including housing, addictions, mental health,
basic needs (food, clothing, basic necessities) in addition to requiring a more
comprehensive array of transitional and long-term supports.
By far, the most dominant service needs are related to housing, specically safe
and appropriate housing. Respondents highlighted the heightened safety and
security risks that survivors face upon leaving their trackers, and that safe
emergency housing is critical to helping survivors exit. They dened safety in
terms of housing needs in several ways:
Emergency housing needs to keep survivors physically safe from their
trackers. Survivors need support for safety planning, and they need to be
located somewhere where their tracker cannot nd them. This includes
being protected and anonymous from the tracker’s associates, including
other women or victims of tracking who may nd or identify them in
emergency shelters.
Housing needs to provide an emotionally safe space. According to 40%
of service providers and 20% of law enforcement respondents, stigma and
shame are among the biggest barriers for victims and survivors to access
services; housing options must help clients overcome those barriers.
Survivors need access to trauma-informed, non-judgmental spaces in the
immediate and intermediate stages of leaving their tracker.
Housing needs to be low-barrier and take a harm-reduction approach to
supporting survivors. Rules often associated with non-human tracking
specic shelters, such as violence against women shelters and family
shelters, can be challenging for survivors due to potential addiction issues,
intense trauma and physical and medical needs immediately upon exiting.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
43
Service Needs and Systems of Intervention
Trauma-informed programs
Close to three-quarters of all respondents highlighted that the service needs of
tracking survivors were dierent than those of other clients, including people
who have experienced other forms of violence, sexual assault and abuse. The
biggest dierence is that trauma-informed services are an absolute requirement
for tracking survivors who have signicantly higher and more complex levels of
trauma. Many become dependent on substances as a means of self-medication
and coping. Other services, often needed immediately, include addictions and/or
detox services and income support (i.e., help accessing social assistance).
Respondents also stressed that survivors often face more complex challenges
and more co-morbidities than other clients, meaning there are two or more
signicant physiological or psychological conditions or diagnoses.
Victims and survivors of human tracking are often placed on the far end
of the complexity continuum of trauma, which is associated with a signicant
amount of shame and heightened vulnerabilities including anxiety, panic
disorder, major depression, substance abuse, and eating disorders as well
as a combination of these.
Many service providers stressed that trauma-informed programs and services
should be central in victims’/survivors’ care plans.
Trauma and
Trauma-Informed
Services
What is trauma?
According to the Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health, “Trauma is the
lasting emotional response that often
results from living through a distressing
event. Experiencing a traumatic event
can harm a person’s sense of safety,
sense of self, and ability to regulate
emotions and navigate relationships.
Long after the traumatic event occurs,
people with trauma can often feel
shame, helplessness, powerlessness
and intense fear.”
34
What are trauma-informed services?
Trauma-informed systems of care are
intentionally designed to respond to, and
address, the trauma-related needs of
victims and survivors and are based on
the following set of core principles:
35
• Trauma is a dening life event that can
profoundly shape a victim’s sense of self
and their sense of others
• The victim’s behaviours and symptoms
are coping mechanisms
• The primary goals of services are
empowerment, symptom management
and recovery
• The service relationship is collaborative
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
44
Service Needs and Systems of Intervention
Service provision challenges
The combination of safety concerns, physical threats, psychological control,
dependence, trauma bonding and the constant surveillance by trackers means
that when survivors choose to exit, the response needs to be immediate. The
window of time for a victim to exit can be incredibly short. If missed, it could
end up causing more harm to victims and survivors due to potential retaliation
from trackers, reinforcing social isolation and stigma. Victims moved along
human tracking corridors could subsequently be moved to another part of the
province or country and may not be traceable again.
Challenges in providing services to victims and survivors of human tracking
vary slightly between service providers and law enforcement; however, the
largest common challenge is a lack of funding and resources to do the job well.
Close to half of all respondents said that lack of appropriate, sustainable and
adequate funding presents a real challenge to the ability to provide services and
supports to survivors. Service providers and law enforcement respondents both
stressed that there is simply not enough funding or programming to meet the
needs of victims and survivors. It can be incredibly dangerous when victims are
attempting to leave their tracker without the necessary supports and resources
in place to do it safely.
It can be really hard to get statements from victims. Asking
a woman to come in and disclose some of the worst things
that have ever happened to her, or that she’s done, to a
stranger is not ok. I can't expect them to have blind trust.
Having to retell their story constantly is a huge barrier,
especially when they can be treated like they are the guilty
ones. When the victim is treated like a liar, you end up with
delays and the need to re-tell their stories multiple times. It
can be very, very heavy on victims.
– Law enforcement respondent on building trust with victims and
survivors, and navigating the judicial system
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
45
Service Needs and Systems of Intervention
Law enforcement respondents stressed that it was challenging to investigate
and pursue human tracking cases because of insucient full-time equivalent
sta to follow through on investigations, and inadequate resources due to other
caseload pressures. Only 30% of law enforcement interviewees worked in
dedicated human tracking units.
Of the frontline service delivery partners interviewed, 43% delivered
human tracking specic programs with dedicated funding, whereas
83% of all respondents regularly worked with victims and survivors of
human tracking directly.
The role of law enforcement in the continuum of support services for survivors
is much narrower than that of service providers. Service providers tend to
engage with survivors in more comprehensive and long-term ways. Police hold
the primary responsibility for enforcing the law, including ensuring the safety of
survivors and pressing charges against trackers. Service providers, however,
are more appropriately positioned to support survivors throughout the cycle of
change, regardless of whether charges are being pressed.
Figure 9: Interview responses to the following question: "Which obstacles do you encounter in
providing services to the victims?" Prompts included for practical, legal and nancial barriers.
Responses do not add up to 100 because responses were not mutually exclusive.
Barriers to providing services, service provider responses
Lack of funding
Lack of appropriate
or aordable housing/
shelter
Lack of local HT services
Lack of collaboration
among service providers
Lack of trauma-informed
services
Long wait list for conselling
Lack of awareness
Long waitlists for
addiction services
Lack of supports
extending beyond
emergency and
crisis services
41%
20%
18%
31%
14%
14%
12%
10%
29%
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
46
Service Needs and Systems of Intervention
In addition to a general lack of resources to support police interventions (45%),
the biggest challenge identied by law enforcement is obtaining disclosures
and building trust with victims and survivors (35%), followed by a lack of human
tracking training within the judiciary including all levels of law enforcement,
judges and crown prosecutors (20%).
Law enforcement respondents who specialize in human tracking cases
stressed that to be successful, their approach with potential victims of human
tracking must be considerably dierent than the typical approach to victim
engagement. Victims and survivors of human tracking can have a very strong
distrust of law enforcement, partly due to manipulation by tracker who may
convince them that no one will believe them and that they may be just as liable
to be arrested as the tracker. Victims and survivors can also face considerable
stigma, shame, fear and isolation about their experiences in the commercial
sex industry.
It’s horrible that I have to ask victims to face their accuser
– someone who will probably kill you, and have your entire
family shame and blame you for 'choosing' this lifestyle
and then the courts just don't care. They say you made this
bed, and now you lie in it. And while we make you do all
these terrible things, we're going to house you in a room
with 10 other women with no privacy, bad food, but maybe
you’ll get counselling if you're lucky. We need a better
system, and we need to collaborate.
– Law enforcement respondent on challenges in service provision
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
47
Conclusions and Recommendations
This research on human tracking corridors in Canada was exploratory in
nature, given that there is a lack of pre-existing evidence on the role of domestic
transportation routes in this crime. The research indicates that labour tracking
is not occurring or is not visible to frontline service providers along transportation
routes. In the future, it is important to investigate whether individuals in labour
tracking situations are primarily conned to one location or one region. Patterns
of movement and connement among victims of labour tracking may dier
substantially from those experienced by individuals exploited in the sex industry,
and establishing these patterns may aid in the development of targeted
interventions based on the type of tracking.
Indigenous persons in sex tracking situations are another group that either are
not moved along transportation routes by trackers, or are not readily detected
by frontline service providers. This research indicates that sex tracking of
Indigenous women and girls may follow unique patterns when compared to other
demographics, and that in particular, movement from a rural community to an urban
centre exposes this population to trackers, who may prey on their unfamiliarity with
the new environment, and/or lack of local connections. What is clear is that a key
mechanism of exploitation employed by sex trackers is leveraging the isolation
of the victim, and their unfamiliarity with their environment, in order to prot.
Conclusions and
Recommendations
A
cross Canada, trackers utilize transportation routes and
corridors strategically to exert control over victims and
ensure that the victim has reduced opportunities for escaping or
evading the tracker. The disorientation arising from being
uncertain of one’s whereabouts can increase the tracker’s
psychological control over the person being exploited. Given the
central role of psychological manipulation within the boyfriend
tracker typology that is identied by this report, movement and
transportation gives tracker’s a clear strategic advantage in
exploiting individuals within the sex industry.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
48
Service Needs and Systems of Intervention
Based on the ndings of this research on human tracking corridors, we make
the following recommendations:
Protection
Invest in creating more inter-jurisdictional law enforcement teams
that can act quickly and decisively across municipal and provincial
jurisdictions. Early examples of this in Quebec and Ontario have shown
to be promising. A national coordination strategy would make it harder
for trackers to evade police by simply moving jurisdictions once they
are detected.
Provide mandatory evidence-based training to all levels of law
enforcement. Require that every single law enforcement ocer in
Canada participate in trauma-informed, best practice training. Evaluate
the impact of training by measuring its impact on identifying human
tracking and in providing appropriate, trauma-informed responses.
1. Protection 2. Prosecution 3. Partnership 4. Empowerment
1
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
49
Service Needs and Systems of Intervention
Prosecution
Explore ways to increase rates of prosecution by making the judicial
process less traumatizing for survivors. Consider investing in
establishing a network of expert witnesses who can participate in
trials to reduce the burden of proof on the victim/survivor testimony.
Partnership
Provide resources for cross-sectoral collaboration. Governments
should provide resources for community-based agencies and
service providers to participate in cross-sectoral collaboration
aimed at ending human tracking in Canada.
Develop partnerships with sectors commonly used by trackers.
Governments and anti-human tracking advocates should develop
partnerships with sectors such as rental car companies, hotels
and short term stays to increase awareness and detection of
human tracking.
Empowerment
Invest in building an adequate and sustainable network
of community services across the country to provide timely and
eective supports for survivors along their continuum of healing.
Adopt a systematic, evidence-informed strategy to adequately
fund human tracking programs and services across Canada.
Undertake regular environmental scans, needs assessments and
gap analyses to ensure equitable access to supports and services
across the country.
At The Centre, we rmly believe that human tracking is a non-partisan issue.
We implore all levels of government to work together on this issue and commit
to funding anti-human tracking initiatives in perpetuity to ensure that programs
and services can focus on what matters most: providing exceptional, meaningful
and eective supports to victims and survivors. By increasing connections
across sectors and jurisdictional boundaries, frontline service providers will have
an increased capacity to provide timely and appropriate responses to individuals
who are trapped by this destructive crime.
2
3
4
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
50
Bottom: a sex worker or sex tracking victim that
helps manage the business operations for a tracker.
Bottoms often control other sex workers/sex tracking
victims and sometimes embody the control required to
protect the business.
36
Coercion: the use of force to persuade someone to do
something that they are unwilling to do.
37
Commercial sex: the exchange of money or goods
for sexual services. Commercial sex always involves a
sex worker and a sex purchaser and it frequently also
involves a third party.
38
Commercial sex industry/market: the combined
phenomenon of individuals, establishments, customs
and messages – explicit and implicit, desired and
undesired – involved in commercial sex.
39
Consensual sex workers and sex work: sex workers
include female, male and transgender adults (18
years of age and above) who receive money or goods
in exchange for sexual services, either regularly or
occasionally. Sex work is consensual sex between
adults, can take many forms, and varies between and
within countries and communities. Sex work may vary
in the degree to which it is “formal” or organized.
40
Exploitation and coercion are not the deciding factor
for participation in consensual sex work.
Criminal organization: a group, however organized,
that is a) composed of three or more persons in or
outside Canada, and b) has as one of its main purposes
or main activities the facilitation or commission of one
or more serious oences that, if committed, would
likely result in the direct or indirect receipt of a material
benet, including a nancial benet, by the group or by
any of the persons who constitute the group.
41
Glossary of Terms
Exploitation: in the context of human tracking
a person exploits another person if they cause them
to provide, or oer to provide, labour or a service by
engaging in conduct that, in all the circumstances,
could reasonably be expected to cause the other
person to believe that their safety or the safety of
a person known to them would be threatened if
they failed to provide, or oer to provide, the labour
or service.
42
Familial sex tracking: sex tracking that is
perpetrated by family members, such as a parent,
legal guardian or other family member.
43
Gang-aliated pimp: a term used to describe
trackers that are members of a gang and/or who
conduct human tracking as a consequence of being
a member of an organized crime group or street gang.
Human tracking corridors: systems of
transportation (i.e. roads, ight paths, boats, buses
and trains) that are systematically used by trackers to
prot o of the sexual exploitation of others by moving
them to dierent cities and commercial sex markets
across Canada.
Human smuggling: facilitating the illegal entry of an
individual into Canada for a prot. Human smugglers
charge people large sums of money for their
transportation, and facilitate illegal migration, often by
counselling smuggled persons to claim asylum in the
country to which they are smuggled.
44
Human tracking: the act of recruiting,
transporting, transferring, receiving, holding,
concealing or harbouring a person, or exercising
control direction or inuence over the movements
of a person, for the purpose of exploiting them or
facilitating their exploitation.
45
A-C E-H
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
51
Appendix A
Glossary of Terms
Labour tracking: a type of human tracking.
Labour tracking involves recruiting, transporting,
transferring, receiving, holding, concealing or
harbouring a person, or exercising control direction
or inuence over the movements of a person for the
purposes of exploiting their labour.
46
Pimp: a person who facilitates or manages commercial
sex transactions.
47
A pimp may also be a tracker if
they recruit, transport, transfer, receive, hold, conceal
or harbour a person, or exercise control, direct or
inuence the movements of a person for the purposes
of sexually exploiting them.
Romeo pimp/boyfriend tracker: trackers that
position themselves as boyfriends and enter what look
like consensual intimate partnerships with the victim
before they start convincing or coercing them into the
commercial sex industry.
Sex tracking: a type of human tracking.
Sex tracking involves recruiting, transporting,
transferring, receiving, holding, concealing or
harbouring a person, or exercising control direction
or inuence over the movements of a person for the
purposes of sexual exploitation.
48
Stigma: the attribution of inferior status to a person,
or group of people, that either have a visible trait that
is perceived to be discrediting (e.g., race, physical
disability) or some perceived moral defect.
49
Survivor: a term of empowerment to convey that a
victim of crime has started the healing process and
may have gained a sense of peace in their life.
50
Trauma: the lasting emotional response that often
results from living through a distressing event.
Experiencing a traumatic event can harm a person’s
sense of safety, sense of self, and ability to regulate
emotions and navigate relationships. Long after
the traumatic event occurs, people with trauma can
often feel shame, helplessness, powerlessness and
intense fear.
51
Trauma-informed systems of care: programs
and services that are intentionally designed to
respond to, and address, the trauma-related needs
of victims and survivors and are based on the
following set of core principles:
52
• Trauma is a dening life event that can
profoundly shape a victim’s sense of self and
their sense of others.
• The victim’s behaviours and symptoms are coping
mechanisms.
• The primary goals of services are empowerment
and recovery.
• The service relationship is collaborative.
Victim: a person who has suered physical or
emotional harm, property damage, or economic loss
as a result of a crime. The oence committed against
the victim must fall under the Criminal Code, the Youth
Criminal Justice Act, or the Crimes Against Humanity
and War Crimes Act. The rights also apply to some
oences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances
Act and parts of the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act.
53
L-S T-Z
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
52
Full Methodology
In undertaking this research, we conducted three lines of inquiry to better
understand how human tracking corridors operate in Canada: literature review,
media review, and qualitative research (interviews with service providers and
law enforcement).
Literature Review
Despite a lack of reliable empirical data on human tracking in Canada,
a growing body of research aims to better understand and build awareness
of how this crime is operating.
We reviewed more than 85 articles and reports, and assessed them for
credibility, comparability and relevance to the research topic. We assessed
credibility by prioritizing research with transparent and proven research
methods. We gave academic and peer-reviewed articles top priority, followed
by government reports and data, and ”grey” literature issued by non-academic
institutions, e.g., community agencies, think-tanks.
Since human tracking is inherently an underground and covert crime, there
are multiple barriers to conducting academic and peer-reviewed research.
For example, researchers may not have the most recent data on evolving
manifestations of this crime if they do not have direct access to victims or
survivors. Ethical considerations in conducting research with human subjects
may also prevent primary data collection.
To balance the need for rigour and still produce relevant and meaningful
research, we were careful to not exclude research that could credibly speak to
the lived realities and trends faced by victims, survivors and service providers on
the ground, even if it did not meet the highest research standards of peer review.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
53
Appendix B
Full Methodology
We explored the following themes as they relate to human tracking in Canada
and North America:
Canadian case studies and
regional research;
economic dimensions of
human tracking
exiting human tracking
gangs and organized crime
health and social services
Indigenous communities
legal constructs of human
tracking and sex work in Canada
policing and law enforcement
stigma and psychology;
trackers and pimps – motivations
and methods of tracking
transportation systems
trauma
typologies of tracking in
North America.
Media Review
We did a systematic scan of human tracking media coverage in Canada to
better understand the following:
To what extent are human tracking corridors understood and reported
on in the mainstream media?
Where have human tracking corridors been identied already?
We conducted 12 unique searches through Google news using the following
search terms: human tracking Canada, human tracking Ontario, human
tracking Nova Scotia, etc.
We analyzed more than 1,800 search results by collecting data on the rst
15 pages of each search term. Duplicate cases were removed, resulting in 267
news articles containing all unique stories between November 2013 and April
2019. Findings from this scan helped direct us to additional data sources:
91% of articles (242) were published between January 2017 and April 2019.
129 articles were written to raise awareness of the issues of human
tracking, but did not report any specic cases.
138 articles mentioned specic cases where actual incidents of human
tracking took place within one or more Canadian jurisdictions.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
54
Full Methodology
Qualitative Research: Interviews
While research on human tracking generally in Canada is increasing, the
literature review and media scan did not produce enough meaningful data to
come to any rm conclusions in response to our research questions. To develop
a robust understanding of how and where human tracking corridors operate,
we held 69 key informant telephone interviews with frontline service delivery
sta and law enforcement ocers with direct experience working with victims
and survivors of human tracking. We used the following inclusion criteria for
our analysis:
Do they or have they recently worked directly with victims and/or survivors
of human tracking?
Do they work with victims or survivors as part of an anti-human tracking
program or organization?
To identify agencies, organizations and individuals likely to meet these criteria,
we drew on the expertise of The Centre’s Partnership Specialists and the
Hotline’s National Referral Directory, and sought to include key informants from
across the country.
We took precautions to ensure that a consistent denition of human tracking
was used throughout the interviews (see Terms and denitions), and that
interview respondents were able to dierentiate between human tracking and
consensual commercial sex work.
We provided interviewees with an overview of the research project including the
goals and methodology. We conrmed condentiality in the interview invitation,
and each participant provided consent at the beginning of the interview.
We developed an interview guide based on best practices in similar research
projects identied through the literature review. We provided the guide to
interviewees upon request in advance of the interview. Interviews took on
average between 45 and 60 minutes; however, actual times varied based on
the amount of information the respondent was able to contribute. The shortest
interview was approximately 15 minutes, and the longest interview was
approximately two hours. Because we expected interview respondents to
have diering levels of experience, knowledge and information, we conducted
semi-structured interviews to allow for greater exibility in information gathering.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
55
Full Methodology
We conducted a thematic analysis of the data to identify trends among
interview responses. A review of similar research projects showed this to be
a best practice in undertaking qualitative research that is exploratory in nature,
or on a topic where there is limited pre-existing research. Because we were
engaging in novel research, it was important that our data analysis methodology
did not impose any predetermined assumptions or apply any bias to the
relevance and weight of individual responses. We rigorously analyzed verbatim
notes from each interview to extract all responses and themes. Each response
to each question was coded and counted, and individual responses were then
clustered and organized according to broader themes.
Qualitative data analysis was an iterative process. We continued to conduct
interviews until we reached a level of saturation, meaning that additional
interviews no longer yielded new information and that trends could be
considered credible.
Law enforcement respondents
We interviewed 20 law enforcement respondents from the following jurisdictions:
Alberta
Calgary, AB
Edmonton, AB
British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
Victoria, BC
Winnipeg, MB
Newfoundland
Nova Scotia
Halifax, NS
Ontario
Kingston, ON
London, ON
Niagara Falls, ON
Thunder Bay, ON
Toronto, ON
Windsor, ON
Montreal, QB
Saskatchewan RCMP
Saskatoon, SK
The vast majority (70%) of interviewees were from municipal services followed
by RCMP (25%) and provincial agencies (5%). Broadly speaking, this reects
the fact that the majority of law enforcements units in Canada are municipal,
followed by RCMP and provincial jurisdictions.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
56
Full Methodology
Ocers interviewed came from a range of units responsible for human
tracking les including Vice, Guns and Gangs, Special Victims and
Counter-exploitation:
30% of respondents worked specically in human tracking units
70% of units were responsible for investigation of crimes not specic
to human tracking.
Units had on average six full-time equivalent ocers on sta
(with a median of four)
95% of respondents conrmed that they had worked directly with
at least one victim/survivor of human tracking
Law enforcement respondents tended to work with fewer victims
and survivors of human tracking than those at frontline agencies.
This is likely due to two factors:
Victims and survivors may fear or distrust law enforcement.
Identication and assessment of victims may vary between
law enforcement and frontline service providers.
Service provider respondents
We interviewed 49 service providers from the following jurisdictions:
Brooks, AB
Calgary, AB
Edmonton, AB
Fort McMurray, AB
Medicine Hat, AB
Strathmore, AB
Prince George, BC
Surrey, BC
Vancouver, BC
Manitoba (provincial
agency)
Winnipeg, MB
Fredericton, NB
Moncton, NB
St. John, NB
St. John's, NL
Government of Nova
Scotia
Halifax, NS
Truro, NS
Government of Ontario
Elgin County, ON
Fort Frances, ON
Greenstone, ON
Haldimand and Norfolk
County, ON
London, ON
Sarnia, ON
Thunder Bay, ON
Waterloo, ON
Niagara, ON
Quebec (Provincial
agency)
Kahnawake, QB
Laurentians, QB
Government of
Saskatchewan
Lloydminster, SK
Melfort, SK
Regina, SK
Saskatoon, SK
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
57
Full Methodology
The vast majority of service provider participants were from frontline agencies
(88%) that work directly with victims and survivors of human tracking (82%).
The majority (61%) were program managers or coordinators who reviewed case
les, oversaw frontline sta or worked directly with survivors of human tracking
as part of their roles. Other respondents included executive directors (35%) and
case workers (4%).
Of the agencies interviewed, 43% provide human tracking-specic programs
or services. The remainder were either government department representatives
(7%) overseeing human tracking strategies or umbrella organizations/
associations (6%) that did not provide direct services to clients. While these
organizations were limited in their ability to speak to the individual needs and
circumstances of human tracking victims and survivors, they were credible
sources of information arising across sectors serving human tracking victims
and survivors.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
58
1 Cotter, A. (2020). Tracking in persons in Canada, 2018. Statistics Canada
Catalogue no. 85-002-X: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/
article/00006-eng.htm
2 Noble, A., Coplan, I., Neal, J., Suleiman, A., & McIntyre, S. (2020). Getting out:
A national framework for exiting human tracking for sexual exploitation in Canada.
Toronto, ON: Covenant House Toronto & The Hindsight Group. Retrieved from
https://covenanthousetoronto.ca/track-stop/the-barriers-to-exiting-sex-tracking
3 Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Corridor. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/
dictionary/corridor
4 Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI). (n.d.) Victim or survivor: Terminology from investigation
through prosecution. Retrieved from https://sakitta.org/toolkit/docs/Victim-or-Survivor-
Terminology-from-Investigation-Through-Prosecution.pdf
5 Government of Canada. Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46, 279.01 (1).
6 Government of Canada. Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46, 279.01 (1).
7 Cotter, A. (2020). Tracking in persons in Canada, 2018. Statistics Canada Catalogue
no. 85-002-X. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/
article/00006-eng.htm
8 Polaris. (2017) The typology of modern slavery: Dening sex and labor tracking in the
United States. Retrieved from https://polarisproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/
Polaris-Typology-of-Modern-Slavery-1.pdf
9 Canadian Women’s Foundation. (2014). “No more”: Ending sex-tracking in Canada –
Report of the National Task Force of Sex Tracking of Women and Girls in Canada. Retrieved
from https://www.canadiancentretoendhumantracking.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/
No-More-Ending-Sex-Tracking-in-Canada.pdf
10 Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Circuit. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/
dictionary/circuit
11 Government of Canada. Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46, 279.01 (1).
12 Polaris. (2017). The typology of modern slavery: Dening sex and labor tracking in the
United States. Retrieved from https://polarisproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/
Polaris-Typology-of-Modern-Slavery-1.pdf
13 Roudometkina, A. & Wakeford, K. (2018). Tracking of Indigenous women and girls in
Canada: Submission to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Native
Women’s Association of Canada. Retrieved from https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/
Committee/421/JUST/Brief/BR10002955/br-external/NativeWomensAssociation
OfCanada-e.pdf
Endnotes
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
59
Endnotes
Endnotes
14 Canadian Women’s Foundation. (2014). “No more”: Ending sex-tracking in Canada –
Report of the National Task Force of Sex Tracking of Women and Girls in Canada. Retrieved
from https://www.canadiancentretoendhumantracking.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/
No-More-Ending-Sex-Tracking-in-Canada.pdf
15 Eberhard, J., Frost, A. C., and Rerup, C. (2019). “The dark side of routine dynamics: Deceit and
the work of romeo pimps", Feldman, M., et al. (Eds.) Routine Dynamics in Action: Replication
and Transformation (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 61), Emerald Publishing
Limited, pp. 99-121.
16 Key informant interviews.
17 Eberhard, J., Frost, A. C., and Rerup, C. (2019). “The dark side of routine dynamics: Deceit and
the work of romeo pimps", Feldman, M., et al. (Eds.) Routine Dynamics in Action: Replication
and Transformation (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 61), Emerald Publishing
Limited, pp. 99-121.
18 Eberhard, J., Frost, A. C., and Rerup, C. (2019). “The dark side of routine dynamics: Deceit and
the work of romeo pimps", Feldman, M., et al. (Eds.) Routine Dynamics in Action: Replication
and Transformation (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 61), Emerald Publishing
Limited, pp. 99-121.
19 Hightower, E. An Explanatory Study of Personality Factors Related to Psychological Abuse
and Gaslighting. PhD Dissertation. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/
0c6d2066bc1732bdd632be2194fad496/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
20 Hammond, G.C. and McGlone, M. (2014). Entry, progression, exit and service provision for
survivors of sex tracking: Implications for eective interventions. Global Social Welfare, 1(4),
p. 159.
21 Hammond, G.C. and McGlone, M. (2014). Entry, progression, exit and service provision for
survivors of sex tracking: Implications for eective interventions. Global Social Welfare, 1(4),
p. 159.
22 Hammond, G.C. and McGlone, M. (2014). Entry, progression, exit and service provision for
survivors of sex tracking: Implications for eective interventions. Global Social Welfare, 1(4),
p. 159.
23 Adapted from Baker et al. (2010) as cited in Hammond, G.C. and McGlone, M. (2014). Entry,
progression, exit and service provision for survivors of sex tracking: Implications for
eective interventions. Global Social Welfare, 1(4), p. 162.
24 Baker et al. (2010) as cited in Hammond, G.C. and McGlone, M. (2014). Entry, progression, exit
and service provision for survivors of sex tracking: Implications for eective interventions.
Global Social Welfare, 1(4), p. 162.
25 Overstreet, N.M. and Quinn, D. M. (2013). The intimate partner violence stigmatization model
and barriers to help seeking. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 35(1), pp. 109-122.
26 Williams, S. L. and Mickelson, K.D. (2008). A paradox of support seeking and rejection among
the stigmatized. Personal Relationships, 15(4), pp. 493-509.
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
60
Endnotes
27 Baker, L.M., Dalla, L.R., and Williamson, C. (2010). Exiting prostitution: an integrated model.
Violence Against Women, 16(5), pp. 579-600.
28 Overstreet, N. M. and Quinn, D. M. (2013). The Intimate Partner Violence Stigmatization
Model and Barriers to Help Seeking. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 35(1), pp. 109-122.
29 Williams, S. L. and Mickelson, K. D. (2008). A paradox of support seeking and rejection among
the stigmatized. Personal Relationships, 15(4), pp. 493-509.
30 Goman, E. (1963) as cited in Weitzer, R. (2018). Resistance to sex work stigma. Sexualities,
21(5-6), pp. 717-729.
31 Weitzer, R. (2018). Resistance to sex work stigma. Sexualities, 21(5-6), pp. 717-729.
32 Williams, S. and Mickelson, K. (2008). A paradox of support seeking and rejection among
the stigmatized. Personal Relationships, 15(4). pp. 493-509.
33 Williams, S. and Mickelson, K. (2008). A paradox of support seeking and rejection among
the stigmatized. Personal Relationships, 15(4), p. 495.
34 The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2021). Trauma. Retrieved from
https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/trauma
35 Adapted from Clawson, H.J. et al. (2008). Treating the hidden wounds: trauma treatment
and mental health recovery for victims of human tracking. U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. Retrieved from https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/treating-hidden-wounds-
trauma-treatment-and-mental-health-recovery-victims-human-tracking
36 Horning, A., Sriken, J. and Thomas, C. (2019). Risky business: Harlem pimps’ work decisions
and economic returns. Deviant Behaviour. DOI: 10.1080/01639625.2018.1556863 pp. 17-18.
37 Cambridge Dictionary. (2020). Coercion. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/
dictionary/english/coercion
38 Overs, C. (2002). Sex workers: Part of the solution – An analysis of HIV prevention
programming to prevent HIV transmission during commercial sex in developing countries.
Retrieved from https://www.who.int/hiv/topics/vct/sw_toolkit/115solution.pdf
39 Overs, C. (2002). Sex workers: Part of the solution – An analysis of HIV prevention
programming to prevent HIV transmission during commercial sex in developing countries.
Retrieved from https://www.who.int/hiv/topics/vct/sw_toolkit/115solution.pdf
40 World Health Organization. (2015). Technical Brief: HIV and young people who sell sex.
Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org/documents/hiv-aids/2015/WHO_HIV_2015.7_eng.pdf
41 Government of Canada. Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46, 467.1(1)
42 Government of Canada. Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46, 279.01 (1).
43 Sprang, G. and Cole, J. (2018). Familial Sex Tracking of Minors: Tracking Conditions,
Clinical Presentation, and System Involvement. Journal of Family Violence, 33(3), pp. 185-195.
44 Public Safety Canada. (2018). Human Smuggling. Retrieved from
https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/cntrng-crm/hmn-smgglng/index-en.aspx
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
61
Endnotes
45 Government of Canada. Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46, 279.01 (1).
46 Adapted from Government of Canada. Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46, 279.01 (1).
47 Horning, A., Thompson, L., and Thomas, C. (2019). Harlem pimps’ reections on quitting:
External and internal reasons. Victims & Oenders, 14(5), pp. 561-586.
48 Adapted from Government of Canada. Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c. C-46, 279.01 (1).
49 Goman, E. (1963) as cited in Weitzer, R. (2018). Resistance to sex work stigma. Sexualities,
21(5-6), pp. 717-729.
50 Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI). (n.d.) Victim or survivor: Terminology from investigation
through prosecution. Retrieved from https://sakitta.org/toolkit/docs/Victim-or-Survivor-
Terminology-from-Investigation-Through-Prosecution.pdf
51 The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2021). Trauma. Retrieved from
https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/trauma
52 Adapted from Clawson, H.J. et al. (2008). Treating the hidden wounds: Trauma treatment
and mental health recovery for victims of human tracking. U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. Retrieved from https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/treating-hidden-wounds-
trauma-treatment-and-mental-health-recovery-victims-human-tracking
53 Department of Justice Canada. (2016). Who is a victim of crime?. Government of Canada.
Retrieved from https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/victims-victimes/rights-droits/
who-qui.html
Human Tracking Corridors in Canada
62
For more information regarding the information presented
in the Human Tracking Corridors in Canada Report or
The Canadian Centre to End Human Tracking, please
contact: info@ccteht.ca
Learn more about the Canadian Human Tracking Hotline at:
ISBN: 978-1-7775810-0-8
Publisher: The Canadian Centre
to End Human Tracking
ccteht.ca
canadianhumantrackinghotline.ca