Warning: The article below contains graphic content that may be offensive or upsetting to some readers.
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“We cannot rely upon the silenced to tell us they are suffering.” ~Hanan Ashrawi
Diane Skevington, or ‘Tiya’, was four years old when her bewildered mother placed her in a London, Ontario institution for the summer. Deaf at birth and lacking a way to communicate with the world, Tiya was frustrated and so was her mom. A family doctor suggested this would be a good place for young Tiya. The centre taught sign language. Through Facebook messenger, Tiya shares how terrified that experience was for her. She writes:
I remember my first night there, I was screaming my head off, and was so scared… they had to send in the night staff to grab my new friend who I untied from the bed because I felt so bad for her … I was scared for her and for me… We were bashing the room trying to break free, and the night staff came in and chased us, then threw us on bed …yes, threw us on bed, and tied both of us …then we were injected with something to make us sleep…
That was only the beginning of her horror, the beginning of many years of sexual exploitation that would test Tiya’s grit. She writes:
Then the nightmare started… The worst thing that could ever happen in there was going upstairs to have my bath and to be checked out by a doctor… Every time I had to walk by a round steel bath to meet up with the doctor, I always checked the temperature…When it is was so hot, I knew I was getting the bad doctor… When it was normal, I knew it was the good doctor… When it is hot- I’m in deep sh*t… I’m getting the bad doctor … He molested me every time I see him… He would put vaseline on a thermometer, and put it up my anus so hard, then would move his fingers down to feel my vulva, then his hands would be on my back going down my side then to my front chest… Then would throw me in bath… so hot… I often could not breathe in it…
The sexual abuse was rampant in the institution. Tiya recalls a room were “terrible abuses” happened to herself and other patients. She recalls acquiring chicken pox while there and being isolated in a room to recover. She was tied to the bed. Tiya writes:
One night there was a night staff who came in, he pulled the blanket down and his hand was on my side and was going down south. I flung over while being tied and his face was between my head and neck…I still remember his breath on my neck, then he would strangle me to stop screaming, then I blacked out…
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We cast our thoughts to far-away places when we hear about children and young women who have been exploited for sexual gratification and profit. They are unwilling and fearful, and they are owned ‘things’, objects for the wicked pleasure and profit of wicked people.
The Canadian Criminal Code defines human trafficking as: Every person who recruits, transports, transfers, receives, holds, conceals or harbours a person, or exercises control, direction of influence over the movements of a person, for the purpose of exploiting them or facilitating their exploitation is guilty of an indictable offense (279.01 (1).
In Canada, humanitarian and political efforts to rescue the vulnerable from this form of slavery are often directed towards international interventions- worthwhile but an oversight considering that 90% of Canadian victims are trafficked right here at home, according to a December 2015 national report conducted by the Select Committee on Sexual Violence and Harassment. The report goes on to say that “human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation has been found to be the most common form of trafficking in Canada, with Ontario functioning as a major ‘hub’.”
A 2013 RCMP report entitled Domestic Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation, indicates “since 2006, 11 police agencies in Ontario have collectively laid human trafficking specific charges in 78 cases. The majority of these cases are in two areas—the GTA (approximately 75 percent) and the Golden Horseshoe (approximately 15 percent).” The report found, “in Ontario, traffickers use exotic dance clubs to traffick their victims for sexual exploitation. Many traffickers either recruit victims from exotic dance clubs, primarily located within the Peel Region, and/or force their victims to provide sexual services within these venues. Although many victims are trafficked within exotic dance clubs, there are more victims trafficked within hotels/private residences in Ontario.”
Between January 1st, 2011 and December 31st, 2013, the Alliance Against Modern Slavery compiled data on the matter of human trafficking in Ontario. The report, The Incidence of Human Trafficking in Ontario, revealed that during that time period, 551 cases of human trafficking for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, forced labour and forced marriage were disclosed to researchers. The researchers point out, “Given the covert, often invisible nature of this crime, this number appears to be the tip of the iceberg.”
The above report identified:
- approximately 62.9% of victims trafficked to, through, within or from Ontario were Canadian citizens
- 90% of these individuals were female
- 63% of trafficked persons were between the ages of 15-24
- the most common age of trafficked persons was 17 years old at 18%
- 65% of individuals were recruited through a personal contact
- of those trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation (68.5%), one (0.7%) was male and 67.8% were female. Of those trafficked for the purpose of forced labour (24.5%), 8.4% were male and 16.1% were female. Of those trafficked for the purpose of a forced marriage (7.7%), all 7.7% were female.
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Four year old Tia returned home after experiencing several weeks of horror at the institution in London, Ontario. But the little girl did not return to safety. At home, her stepfather was waiting for her. Tiya and her sister were routinely molested and raped by their stepfather and forced to perform sexual acts on one another and other children. Tiya writes of her return home and the molestation:
It was ongoing for my sister and myself for four years. We were molested. There were times that his friend and my [step]father would make his friend’s two girls and myself make love on the bed and they took pictures. Our childhood wasn’t a normal childhood… We were left on our own most times to survive while our parents drank…
The sexual victimization of young Tiya seemed to have no end. When she was 14 years old, she was raped by a family ‘friend’. She disclosed to her mother the details of the rape. Her mother was indifferent, sending Tiya to her room. Tiya broke down in front of her sister, seeking some validation and comfort for what she had suffered. Tiya writes of the moment:
My sister became my mom and held me close when I cried… We both tried to be moms to each other while growing up and it was hard on us to grow up with all of that…
Attempting to cope with the violent rape Tiya began to drink to self-medicate and began self-harming. As Tiya and her sister grew older the tension in the home increased. The molestation of her and her sister by their stepfather continued, their mother seeming to be willfully blind and deaf to what was happening. Tiya reached a breaking point and she writes:
I had enough of my mother’s abuses and lies…I stood back and pulled a knife on her and told her she needed to stop hurting me…all I did was take her abuse all my life. I took abuse for my sister and I got raped and she didn’t do anything about it. My stepdad said to my mom ‘put her in foster or I’m leaving. You have a choice.’ She chose him. He molested my sister and me. Did she ever know? My sister and I think she knew because we screamed at night…
At the age of 14 years old, Tiya entered the system. Her foster parents were kind and she may have stayed in their home longer but for an incident at a party. Tiya’s drink was laced and she was raped by her foster sister’s boyfriend. When she regained consciousness she hurt and was heavily bleeding. Tiya writes:
I woke up, took the bus home and I spent the whole day on the toilet and was shivering so badly…I was sweating and was so cold…I was so sick that day and I was in so much pain…I didn’t know what they did to me and I don’t know why there was so much blood. ..My foster dad deeps coming in, begging me to tell him what is wrong with me because he was so worried about me. I said nothing…I keep crying and crying… It was awful…
Having been let down by the system and by adults, Tiya decided she had nothing to lose by striking out on her own. At the age of 16 years old, Tiya took herself out of foster care and moved into an apartment with one of her boyfriends. The relationship was short lived and she was staying with a friend when she met ‘Steve’. It was 1992 and she was living in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Of her first impressions of Steve, Tiya writes:
He had looks and he was older…10 years older…In my mind, I thought he is older and he can take care of me… I was 17 and I was on my own. He was sweet and kind, had a home, money…I thought ‘ok, he’s good to me’ and he respected my wishes. Why not? So I moved in with him…I thought I was in love with him and I didn’t understand love…I only knew abuse all my life…
Steve was the beginning of her “worst nightmare”.
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The 2013 RCMP report mentioned above provides a succinct summary of the characteristics and vulnerabilities of victims of trafficking. At the time of the report, all victims of sexual trafficking were female, between the ages of 14 yrs. -22 yrs. Approximately 40% of victims are underage. Traffickers primarily recruit victims who are Canadian citizens with a very small portion of victims of foreign origin.
The report identifies that while anyone can become a victim of trafficking, it is girls or young women possessing two main vulnerabilities that are often targeted by traffickers. Girls and young women who have financial need and desire love and affection –like Tiya, are most susceptible to traffickers. Other groups have been identified at greater risk and include: youth; runaways; exotic dancers/prostitutes; drug and alcohol dependencies; poor mental health and other disabilities; and aboriginal persons. Other risk factors include: low-education; previous sexual/physical abuse and coming from unstable backgrounds; and eroded family, though it has been discovered that females with “relatively stable backgrounds are increasingly becoming victims. In recent years, there have been more victims that come from reasonably stable homes, are enrolled in educational institutions, and/or have established employment.”
Also like Tiya, the report explains that it is common for victims to fall in love with their traffickers and are willing to do anything for the ‘relationship’. Because of this, victims are less likely to identify as victims and are less likely to cooperate and expose their victimization to police.
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Tiya, now 17 years old, moved in with Steve who was living in Burlington, Ontario. They would bounce around the province over the next two years – over to Hamilton, then to Belleville, back to Hamilton and then to London. Steve’s ‘charm’ wore off pretty quickly. Tiya’s every move was monitored and Steve, who was hard of hearing but could lip read and speak, used his adaptation to keep Tiya in her victimization. She writes:
Steve is hard of hearing however he speaks more than he signs….He doesn’t sign very well…He had an advantage over me because of my deafness…
Relying on Steve for shelter and confused that their ‘arrangement’ was a romantic relationship, Tiya sought to please him. Eventually it would be sheer fear that kept her in a state of obedience to him –for a time. Tiya writes:
I never saw a day of independence with Steve… I was not allowed to wear sexy clothes, I was only to wear sweat pants and a shirt or the clothes he wanted me to wear …He wanted no one looking at me, and every time I went out, he had to be with me everywhere I go…my life with Steve is truly a nightmare…
But there were too many nights when Steve did want Tiya to look provocative. And on those nights he would dress her up and walk her downtown. Tiya would beg Steve to stop the abuses that would happen to her over and over again on those evenings, but like a reluctant and terrified 4 year old, she would return to Steve at the end of the night, eager for someone to love her, show her any kindness and keep her sheltered. Her consent was coerced. She believed there was no other way. Of her nightmare Tiya writes:
He would take me to the busy street where all the girls were… He would wait with me and once a car pulled up to me he would speak for me and get money from clients, then tell me to go with him … I would often say I don’t want to… he would grab my hands and drag me around to the other side of car then shove me in… I would plead often. Then I had to fight my client off so many times because I wanted to use a condom. I would get battered if I refuse to do what they wanted… One client wanted to use my hair clip on my nipple and would force anal penetration. Other clients would choke me while forcing himself on me. Some client were nice and wanted a blow job that’s it… So I had no choice but to do it. After, the client would take me back to the same location where Steve would be waiting for me. I go through one client after another. He would get me 2-4 clients a night to get money for his addictions… Every time when it was my last client – I would often have to walk home alone …When I would come back and see he was not there, I knew I had to walk 20 minutes to home… I was sore and tired from fighting off clients. Every time I got home- he’s high on drugs… Some nights he would rape me for a couple of hours. Then he would go to sleep. Some nights he would abuse me because he didn’t get drugs because I didn’t make enough money or I refused to have sex with him… I never saw money. I never get any from him… I keep doing it so I don’t get hit… so I don’t get raped.
Then there was the night that Steve made her an accomplice in his rape of an acquaintance. Tiya had been ‘sent to her room’ for non-compliance. A female acquainted to Steve had stopped in for a visit. Unable to hear the activity in the living room, Tiya was unaware of the events taking place in the next room. Tiya writes:
He came to get me and took my clothes off then dragged me to the other room. I saw her tied up and gagged. She was trying to break free. I asked ‘what are you doing’? He grabbed a burning candle and told me to pour wax over her…I said ‘no I won’t’. I didn’t want to hurt her. He slapped me and said do it…I said ‘no’…He grabbed my hair and pushed me to the edge of the futon where she was laying…Told me to do it or he would do same to me… I said ‘no please’… Then he beat me up…five minutes later, I poured wax over her and he made me do some things to her…After he sent her home –he did the same thing to me.
The night Steve tried to kill her was her breaking point. Two years into the abuser/victim relationship, Tiya and Steve produced a daughter. Tiya told Steve she didn’t love him. Her admission incited Steve’s blind rage. Tiya writes:
He went berserk and pushed and slapped me. I ran into my bedroom and he pushed me, then picked me up and choked me on our bed… said ‘if you leave me, I will kill you’. His grip became tighter…he said ‘no one will love you like I love you. No one can have you’…I said ‘stop, stop’. I started seeing darkness and light was slowly coming in becoming brighter and brighter. My daughter woke up and started to cry hard…It scared Steve and he let go of me. The light went away and I came back to where I was. The device for my deafness was going off –a different light going on and off…it was set off by my daughter’s cry…I went to her and grabbed her up…Held her in my arms and promised her we will leave…Steve came in the room and apologized to me over and over…I said ‘ok, whatever’. I was holding my daughter most of night in fear he would strangle me again…
Tiya made her break away that November night in 1995. She emailed a friend to ask for help. She waited for Steve to fall asleep and alerted her friend that she was ready to run. She bundled up her 2 month old daughter in her snow suit, packed a few bottles, grabbed her wallet and left the house with the clothes on her back as her only personal possession. Tiya writes:
I left everything behind and went to a shelter. Stayed there for a week before contacting my mother…She came and got me with my cousin’s help…Then I left for London and was on the run –changing my tracks all the time until the fateful day in Burlington when Steve finally caught up.
Tiya had been on the run for 10 months when Steve found her. At this time she was living with a different boyfriend –Mark, and while he wasn’t as violent as Steve, he had no problem taking Tiya’s earnings from prostitution to support his addictions. One night, Tiya left her daughter with Mark while she went out with a client. When she returned home, her daughter was gone. A mutual acquaintance knew where Tiya was living and tipped off Steve about Tiya’s whereabouts. Steve called the Children’s Aid Society who took Tiya’s daughter into custody. Tiya was devastated and fought for a year in the Courts trying to regain custody. She never did. In 1997 the Courts awarded full custody to Steve and Tiya was granted visitation.
Tiya lost her daughter in Burlington, Ontario but returned to Hamilton, Ontario when the Courts granted custody of her daughter to Steve. If Tiya has a breaking point, the Court’s decision would have been it. She writes:
To lose my daughter – I went insane. I gave up everything because my life had no meaning without her in it. I loved her very, very much….she was my little girl… To go and see her for my visitations, I would always get raped by Steve. He would often say ‘if you want to see her, let’s have sex’. I often said ‘no’. I would get attacked and get raped on the stairway, in his front entrance of his apartment. In my daughter’s room he would push me down on floor and rape me …on the couch, in his car…
After losing her daughter, Tiya was lost. She was heart-broken and horrified that the Courts could find Steve a more suitable parent to their daughter. She was living alone in a basement apartment, unable to make ends meet and unable to feed herself, she abandoned all hope and turned to the streets for shelter and friendship. She began prostituting herself to feed herself and her street friends, and to self-medicate. Tiya writes:
The streets are home to many teenagers where they ran away due to molestation or abuses they suffered at the hands of family members…
Tiya didn’t experience complete freedom on the streets. A local ‘lord’ would drive through the streets in a flashy car intimidating the young people on the streets. Tiya would surrender to him most of her earnings from her night’s activities. Violence pursued Tiya and her friends on those Hamilton streets but they had a protector. He had a nickname ‘Giant’. Giant kept an eye on Tiya and the other prostitutes, in return they shared their food with him. Tiya calls him her friend. Tiya writes:
Giant loved us and was gentle. We were sisters and brothers by the street. He was always hovering over a 14 year old girl and myself when we were forced to sell ourselves…There was a specific client who always seemed to like us, especially the 14 year old girl. He was always stalking her. One day we were in an alley, and we were chatting and smoking weed. Then Giant heard the 14 year old screaming and he ran out to her…Found the same client who stalked her and I…He was all over her…The girl was fighting so hard to get him off…Giant stepped in and grabbed him off then punched him so hard. They fought and Giant punched and pushed him away…That client fell and hit his head on a cement planter on a sidewalk… He bled profusely and died…Giant ran deep in alley and we chased him down…
Tiya and her friends caught up with Giant who was crying in an alley. They pooled their money together and Giant bought a ticket to “an unknown destination”. The incident shook up Tiya so badly that she pursued a fresh start. She reconnected with Mark and they headed out to B.C. but it was just more of the same thing there. In his quest for drugs Mark ‘sold’ her to two pimps who ran an escort agency. The agency crossed paths with organized crime and an attempted purchase of a girl owned by one of these gangs went bad resulting in a shooting and death of one Tiya’s pimps. Tiya writes:
The other boss went on the run and moved to unknown destination in fear that he will be the next one to be shot because they got involved with the wrong people. The lady who answered the phones and booked us with clients told us the news. She told us we were free and should hurry out before they come back for us… So we did…
Tiya was 21 years old and she did not take her freedom for granted. Desperate for a better life Tiya enrolled herself in college and eventually acquired her diploma. In B.C. she found work in her field and a year later she returned to Ontario. Life was better, but it wasn’t perfect. She missed her daughter terribly and her experiences with men continued to be abusive. Six years ago, now 37 years old, Tiya pursued charges against an ex-partner who was abusive and the outcome was jail time. But try as she might, Tiya could not rid of herself of the trauma in her past. Three years ago she became suicidal. Tiya writes:
I was ready to give up my life because how do I make sense out of everything? I didn’t understand why this had to happen to me especially with the domestic violence six years ago. I finally lost my mind and wanted to end my life because I thought I wasn’t good enough….The police found me locked in my bedroom. He woke me up with a stick through my bedroom window, said to open the door….I saw the knife beside my bed on the floor… I realized at that moment I almost ended my life…???…It was a euphoria moment. From that moment on, I knew I had to fight back and live for myself and my children…
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In October 2016 the Globe and Mail reported that 32 people had been charged with 78 offences related to trafficking people and child luring. The arrests were the result of a cross country effort –Operation Northern Spotlight, dedicated to cracking down on human trafficking. In Toronto alone, between January –October 2016, police arrested 64 individuals on trafficking or related charges and found 53 victims –the youngest of whom was 13 years old.
In January 2016 federal cabinet ministers met to address the safety concerns of indigenous women in Northern Ontario, including reports of women disappearing on ships on Lake Superior. The information stems from 2013 research that exposed First Nations women from Thunder Bay were being trafficked between the Canada and Duluth-Superior harbour. Last week in Thunder Bay, police arrested a 20 year old male and a male under 18 years old in the sexual trafficking of a missing 17 year old. Both men are from Southern Ontario.
In Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, there isn’t any recent data on human trafficking since 2009 when a local woman who sexually exploited two young girls, both 15 years old, was found guilty of keeping a common bawdy house and two counts of living off the avails of prostitution of persons under the age of 18 years old. Today, one hopes that the local Court would call the sexual exploitation of children what it actually is- human trafficking.
In June 2016 the province announced that it would spend over $72 million over four years for a new anti-trafficking strategy. In Canada, of the incidents of human trafficking, about 65% of those cases originated in Ontario. Funding provided through the Ministry of the Attorney General has been allocated to the Victim Quick Response Program. Survivors of trafficking, and other violent crime, can utilize the support to access things like tattoo removal, maybe the cost of hair dye to alter one’s appearance, dental coverage and residential treatment up to $10,000 as well as relocation. Financial support for other needs is determined on a case by case basis.
In Sault Ste. Marie, Crelene Duck, is a coordinator of the above program. Her role has recently been expanded to focus her efforts on outreach to survivors of trafficking, and community education.
“The province recognized that there is a need to identify that this is a problem. People are falling through the cracks,” remarked Duck. “It’s really hard to get a trafficking charge to stick. Victims are recruited at a young age –the most common age is 13 to 14 years old, so they’re easily manipulated. We don’t use the language ‘pimp’ anymore. These guys are preying on the girls vulnerabilities and they know how to groom these girls. They treat them really nice, buy them gifts and promise to love them and keep them safe.”
Of the risk factors, for those who may be susceptible to being trafficked such as poverty, low education, addiction, poor mental health and previous sexual abuse, Duck points out that indigenous girls and young women may be in greater peril. “First Nations girls are often targeted because sometimes they meet all these factors. And because we live in the North and because there are isolated communities that don’t have a lot of resources.”
Duck underpins the complexity of healing for survivors, like Tiya, after sexual trafficking stating, “Consider everything you know about victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and kidnapping. The combination of all these factors is only the beginning of the mindset of a human trafficking victim.”
Christina Scarpellini, has a personal experience with addiction and a recurring disorder. In recovery, Scarpellini returned to school and acquired education in Mental Health and Addictions. Upon graduation she opened up her own business aimed at providing support for recovering addicts. Scarpellini observed that there was an overlap among recovering addicts and women who had been sexually trafficked or were sex workers. That realization inspired Scarpellini to expand her services and in October 2015 she founded Angels of Hope Against Human Trafficking in Sudbury, Ontario.
Angels of Hope “works hand in hand with survivors of human trafficking and women and girls who want to exit the sex trade industry”. So far Scarpellini’s organization has supported 20- 25 survivors of human trafficking. Many of these survivors have returned to or relocated to Sudbury to overcome trafficking trauma. Tiya is one of those survivors.
“We’ve supported girls that are from Sudbury that have been trafficked in Sudbury but I’ve had girls that are from other places in Ontario because the trafficker doesn’t want the victim to get familiarized with their surroundings. They’re constantly moving them around. Toronto is a hub but they’ll move around from Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, down to Barrie,” commented Scarpellini.
In addition, to working with like-minded organizations to enhance existing resources and fill in service gaps, Angels of Hope has brought together survivors of trafficking and the sex trade to establish a peer support/mentoring group.
“Our peer support team is made up of people that have been trafficked. A lot of times they’ll get out of trafficking and get into sex work. The peer support team may also be people that have been sexually assaulted. Each person is making a bio of themselves and when a survivor comes in we’ll choose the peer support person that we feel- or they feel, would be the best person for them,” remarked Scarpellini.
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Tiya was in Barrie, Ontario when she began her healing journey three years ago. She sought out the services of Athena’s Sexual Assault Counselling and Advocacy Centre. Tiya writes:
I went there as a child stuck in the moment…With their help, I slowly started to heal and continued with them for a year and a half before moving to Sudbury…
Tiya’s move made sense to her. It was a place to begin a fresh life and she had met a man from Sudbury that was good to her. She took things slowly with him and came to know that he was a good man. As Tiya shares her experiences for the purpose of this story, the memories hurt, her new partner rubs her shoulders and tells her she’s safe now.
Throughout several days of Facebook conversation with Tiya I have scrolled through her pictures and I see a naturally beautiful woman who looks younger than her 40 years. Her pictures show her surrounded by what she loves most- her children, her family and friends, and a picture of her addressing a group about her experience as a survivor of trafficking- beneath that picture a comment that reads, “I’m proud of you mommy”. And maybe it’s because I know her story, that even in the images of Tiya laughing or being silly, as she gazes into the camera her eyes appear serious and deep, always.
Tiya receives counselling regularly. Coming to terms with decades of abuse takes a while. And part of her healing includes a reckoning of the sexual, physical and mental abuse she experienced at that institution in London when she was just 4 years old -Tiya has filed a lawsuit against the Children and Parents Resource Centre.
Next to her children, whom she loving speaks of often, perhaps Tiya’s greatest pride is that she is a mentor with Angels of Hope. Tiya writes:
Becoming a mentor at Angels of Hope is a dream come true for me because I wanted to give hope to others and to let them know they are never alone…I want to empower them, and to give them a new beginning despite the imperfect world we live in…We have a wonderful team working together…I am looking forward to working with other peer mentors because they are my sisters…It is a huge step for all of us, and I think that excitement is not the right word, something beyond that… We are so looking forward to making milestones in Angels of Hope…
To the reader, Tiya gives a direct message. She writes:
It can happen anywhere, anytime, anyplace and to anyone…Human trafficking is a very lucrative career, money becomes greed, and greed becomes monsters. Monsters do it with no remorse and with no second thoughts…Money drives them to do that and most of the time, women, children and men pay a dear price for their greed. Human trafficking is a dangerous battleground 
but with education and people like us who fight for changes, we can see a decrease in abduction. Watch your children and their usage of the computer- traffickers lure your children and women through it. Love your children and be there for them…do not think that it will never happen…take a moment to educate them. Community can come together and help make changes happen…
Tiya’s story here comes to an end but her healing journey is ongoing. And though some days are still very difficult, painful, Tiya is grateful for the people that have nurtured and supported her and she is hopeful about her future. She writes:
My life is not perfect, I made some good and bad choices, yet I am a survivor. The beautiful thing about being a survivor, you look back and know you survived. Being a survivor is just the beginning of a new life.
For more information about Sudbury’s Angels of Hope visit their website or call 705.822.8630.
or
To inquire about services and support for survivors of human trafficking in Sudbury, contact Sudbury and Area Victims Services at 705.522.6970. Press #5 if after normal business hours.
To inquire about services and support for survivors of human trafficking in Sault Ste. Marie, contact Crelene Duck, Victim Quick Response Program Coordinator at 705.945.6905 #202 or her direct email vqrp@victimservicesalgoma.ca.
or
Contact the Ministry of the Attorney General to obtain information about your local Victim Quick Response Services by clicking here or call the Victim Support Line at 1.888.579.2888
Editor’s Note: Some names in this piece have been changed to protect identity .
