Human trafficking is the exploitation of human beings for gain. Human trafficking therefore results in substantial physical, psychological, and emotional trauma to the victims. Despite common myths, human trafficking does not require that victims cross national borders. It can be perpetrated by a single individual, by a gang, or through organized criminal networks. It can also be committed by a company or employer. The Protocol recommends a victim-centred approach to address the harm of human trafficking through trafficking prevention and victim protection.
Canada ratified the Palermo Protocol in Human trafficking offences are included in the Criminal Code under sections To further discourage human trafficking, the Criminal Code broadens the scope of persons who can be considered traffickers. It also criminalizes certain acts aside from the trafficking itself and situations where there is no financial gain. Therefore, it is not limited to the single act of exploitation and instead involves a series of acts leading to the victim being put in an exploitative situation.
Victims and survivors of human trafficking are often unwilling to come forward to report human trafficking situations to law enforcement. This can be due to fear of retaliation from traffickers or the fear that they may have committed offences themselves, which creates difficulty for law enforcement in gathering credible evidence.
To address this, the law targets all those who may be involved in the human trafficking chain. The acts of recruiting, transporting, transferring, receiving, holding, concealing or harbouring the victim are all considered trafficking.
Therefore, anyone contributing to any of these acts is a trafficker. For example, someone who drives a victim from their home to the venue where they are forced into prostitution is considered a trafficker if they knew full well why they were transporting the victim. It can still be difficult to prove the actual acts committed by the trafficker to exploit the victim. This is why, through the Criminal Code, the trafficker can also be punished for exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of a victim.
