Human Trafficking in  [Canada]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Canada]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Canada]  [other countries]
 

Child Prostitution

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Canada                                                                                         [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

Canada [map] occupies most of North America north of Continental USA.  It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean (E), the Arctic Ocean (N), and the Pacific Ocean and Alaska (W).  A transcontinental border, formed in part by the Great Lakes, divides Canada from the United States, and Nares and Davis straits separate Canada from Greenland.  Impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. Solid fiscal management has produced a long-term budget surplus which is substantially reducing the national debt, although public debate continues over how to manage the rising cost of the publicly funded healthcare system.

 

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Canada.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated, misleading or even false.   No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

Quick Search for Missing Children - Select Gender, Country (Canada), and Years Missing

National Plan of Action

Runaways - Where To Turn For Help Before You Are Homeless

Here are the best phone numbers to call …They are Confidential - which means they won't tell anyone about your call unless you want them to talk to somebody for you, or you are in danger.  They are open 24 Hours - it doesn't matter what time you call  In Canada, call 1-800-668-6868

How To Get Help - Street Helpline: (416) 392-3777

If you are in trouble, need a safe place to stay or just want help looking at your options Horizons for Youth is committed to helping out in anyway we can.  Horizons for Youth: (416) 781-9898

Kids Help Phone: 1 800 668-6868

Providing immediate help and hope that young people need and deserve - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  Every day, Kids Help Phone counsellors answer calls and online questions from across Canada. No matter what the problem or concern, our counsellors are there to provide immediate and caring support, information and, if necessary, referral to a local community or social service agency.

What is CYBERTIP.CA ?

Cybertip.ca is Canada's National Tipline for reporting the online sexual exploitation of children. It is a centralized web portal for receiving and addressing reports from the public regarding child pornography, luring, child sex tourism, and children who are exploited through prostitution.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

CHILDREN - Children were trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation.

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – The country was a destination and a transit point to the United States for women, children, and men trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation, labor, and the drug trade.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2003

[52] The Committee is encouraged by the role Canada has played nationally and internationally in promoting awareness of sexual exploitation and working towards its reduction, including by adopting amendments to the Criminal Code in 1997 (Bill C-27) and the introduction in 2002 of Bill C-15A, facilitating the apprehension and prosecution of persons seeking the services of child victims of sexual exploitation and allowing for the prosecution in Canada of all acts of child sexual exploitation committed by Canadians abroad.  The Committee notes, however, concerns relating to the vulnerability of street children and, in particular, Aboriginal children who, in disproportionate numbers, end up in the sex trade as a means of survival.  The Committee is also concerned about the increase of foreign children and women trafficked into Canada.

Hundreds of kids in sex trade - Testimony jolts inquest; police say hands tied

Hundreds of vulnerable Winnipeg children, some as young as eight years old, are selling their bodies to adult men for money, drugs and even food and shelter, a provincial inquest was told Monday.

She told court that 80 per cent of child prostitution occurs in gang houses and "trick pads." Runner estimated that 70 per cent of the girls are aboriginal, more than 70 per cent are wards of Child and Family Services, and more than 80 per cent get involved after running away from their placements.

HAVE THERE BEEN ANY MAJOR CASES IN WINNIPEG? - In 2005, more than 30 children were involved in an alleged West End child prostitution ring in a Victor Street home.  Police said about 20 youngsters between the ages of 12 and 16 were used in the sex operation, and 11 others from 18 months to 11 years old were sometimes in the vicinity of the sex crimes.

More Blue Uniforms To Fight Child Prostitution In Saskatoon1

Talks are still in their infancy, but Saskatoon is in good shape as it looks to get two brand new police officers from the province to fight child prostitution.  Chief Clive Weighill isn't too sure what the details surrounding the deal with the provincial government will be.  But what he can say, is that the cops will move right into Vice Squad to get down to work on the child sex trade in the city...and that he expects the deal to be in place with the province by April.

Megan

Megan Lewis turned her first trick when she was 13 and worked in a brothel with other girls as young as 11. They sold their bodies in the back of a knick-knack shop in Vancouver's Gastown tourist district. Lewis felt she was making big bucks when she finished a night's work with $30 in her pocket. For 11 years she was physically and sexually abused. But she couldn't turn her back on the life she had grown used to.

When is a law not a law?  When do-gooder politicians fail to proclaim it

YEARS OF LOBBYING - Other provinces, notably Alberta, have had such a law for years, and it has proven effective. In Ontario, where we have an estimated 1,200 child prostitutes, it took years of work and lobbying, but in 2002, the then-Conservative government endorsed and passed the private member's bill originated by MPP Rick Bartolucci, a Liberal.

Trouble is, it was never proclaimed -- not by the Tories and not by the Liberals since they came to power, even though it was the brainchild of one of their own. Amazingly, some youth outreach groups oppose the law as too "draconian" -- because, hey, why shouldn't a 14-year-old have the right to sell her body for cash?

Manitoba launches 'StopSexWithKids' campaign

According to StopSexWithKids.ca, about 400 children and youth, aged eight to 16 years, are sexually exploited on Winnipeg streets each year. The average age of a child's first sex trade experience is 13. Eighty per cent of the exploitation takes place in gang houses or "trick pads.

Brampton man charged with forcing 14-year-old girl into prostitution

A 28-year-old Brampton man is facing 11 child-prostitution charges involving a 14-year-old girl. Police allege Kevin Rico Roach recruited the girl to work as a prostitute for him and maintained a violent relationship with her.

Coalition of Toronto Launches Poster Campaign to Help End Child Prostitution

Today, the Sexual Exploitation Education and Awareness Coalition of Toronto (SEEACT) launched its information and outreach poster campaign at Toronto Police Service Headquarters.  The poster is one of the coalition's projects aimed at spreading awareness and providing outreach to victims of child prostitution. The slogan, "No 13-Year-Old Dreams of Getting into Prostitution, Many Dream of Getting Out", is intended to help children and youth involved in, or affected by, commercial sexual exploitation reach out for assistance. It is also intended to educate the public that child prostitution is a form of child abuse. The phone number will give victims a point of contact for two community support agencies - Street Outreach Services, LOFT Community Services and Kids Help Phone.

N.L. police investigate alleged child porn and prostitution operation

An investigation into a porn and prostitution ring that allegedly involved 40 young girls in Newfoundland has prompted the police chief in St. John's to suggest that the province has lost its innocence.  "It involves allegations that young people in our community were being put in a situation that involved sexual exploitation or other crimes of a sexual nature," Deering said in an interview.

Child-sex ring uncovered in Winnipeg, police allege

Sgt. Kelly Dennison said about 20 girls – aged 12 to 17 – were sold into prostitution.  Dennison said the other children younger than age 12, including a baby of only 18 months, weren't necessarily forced to perform sexual acts but may have been exposed to them because they lived in the houses where they were taking place.

ECPAT: Fifth Report on implementation of the Agenda for Action [DOC]

[B] COUNTRY UPDATES – CANADA – The area where the most progress has been made in Canada is child/youth participation. The Canadian government continues to support “Out from the Shadows and Into the Light, ” a project of Save the Children Canada. The activities carried out under this project include a national consultation of aboriginal youth who are at risk of CSE. Efforts are now underway to create a national network of youth who are, or were, commercially sexually exploited. Apart from developing a network, SEYSO (Sexually Exploited Children Speak Out) will provide skills development and mentoring programs, and develop community capacity building.

Out Of The Shadows: Child Prostitutes Speak Out

She turned her first trick when she was 13 and worked in a brothel with other girls as young as 11. They sold their bodies in the back of a knick-knack shop in Vancouver's Gastown tourist district. Lewis felt she was making big bucks when she finished a night's work with $30 in her pocket.

The Dark Side Of The Street

Prostitution is a serious issue in Calgary. It is so serious because so many people are hurt by it, not just the prostitutes themselves:

·         parents and families of prostitutes

·         spouses and families of people who use prostitutes

·         community members who must live in neighborhoods where pimps and prostitutes operate

·         youth and young adults who are at risk of being seduced into prostitution

Why Do Youths Get Into Prostitution?1

While many child prostitutes are girls who come from troubled family situations, anyone can become a victim. They don't have to be poor, they can be female or male, they can be any age, and many young prostitutes still have families who care about them. Here are some common factors that can lead to young people getting involved in "the life:"

Who Becomes A Child Prostitute?1

Typical profile of a female prostitute and typical profile of a male prostitute

Teenage Prostitution - The Real Story1

Many young girls are lured into a horrible and tragic life of prostitution involving violence and drug addiction.  In early Calgary, 'ladies of ill repute' were often arrested and charged, while their customers were treated lightly.  Today, prostitutes are often teenagers or younger children.  Police have come to realize these kids are not criminals, but victims.  That's why police have changed their strategy to focus more on the 'pimps' who control the girls, and the 'johns' who are their customers.

Child Prostitution: Whose Child Next?

13-year-old Anna was tied to a chair by a man in his late 20’s in a dark, wet room. Her wounded legs lay motionless, while her tired black eyes stared with panic at the beaker of boiling water which the man threatened to pour down her throat if she refused to go on doing what he demanded: selling her body. Shockingly enough the above scene was not set in Thailand or the Philippines as most would expect, but in Toronto, Canada, for Anna is unfortunately only one of the 1500 child prostitutes living in this city, the 10,000 child prostitutes across Canada, and the more than 700,000 child prostitutes in the so-called developed West.

Presentation To The Parliamentary Committee On Solicitation1

Young girls and boys of 14 or even younger are already prostituting themselves in Canada’s cities. Any move towards legalizing prostitution will put the government’s seal of approval on an already dangerous and demeaning practice particularly when it involves girls and boys as young as 14.

Police Say 30 Kids Involved In Winnipeg Sex Ring

More than 30 children were victimized in what police are calling the largest case of child prostitution in Winnipeg's history.  Officers say 20 youths between the ages of 12 and 16 were forced to perform sex acts, while 11 others -- some as young as 18 months -- may have witnessed illegal sex acts take place in a home in the city's west end.

CISC 2005 Annual Report on Organized Crime in Canada - Report Highlights [original PDF]

Child prostitution is usually a hidden section of the prostitution market, and thus frequently exists alongside adult prostitution, and is therefore, difficult for law enforcement to identify. Small groups of organized criminals and lower-level organized crime groups are involved in child prostitution in Canada. Prostitution rings involving children under the age of 18 have recently been dismantled in Ontario and Quebec, however, child prostitution is present in most larger urban centers in Canada.  Traditional places of activity center around Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Canada [PDF]

[page 2]  WHAT IS THE AVERAGE AGE OF ENTRY LEVEL FOR CSEC IN CANADA?  Experts place the median age of entry into commercial sexual exploitation anywhere from 13-14 to 16-18.

HOW MANY CSEC ARE THERE IN CANADA? Experts disagree on this. For instance, one 2001 news report states that Vancouver has about 500 CSEC under the age of 17 on the street, and 10 times as many girls are forced to work behind closed doors.

Real Women of Canada - Position Papers: Statement on Prostitution

Prostitutes are extremely vulnerable members of society, open to personal and sexual degradation, exploitation and violence from their customers, pimps, and businesses from whose premises they work.  They have no security or job training to sustain them in later years, and often their physical and mental health is at risk.

We are particularly concerned about the effect of prostitution on young children and teenagers, giving them the impression that sexuality is merely recreation and sport, and not a responsible, loving expression best obtained within the desirable and permanent context of a conjugal relationship.  It encourages teenagers to view prostitution as a temporary way of financial survival, rather than working to acquire marketable work skills through the more permanent route of education and employment.

These vulnerable children are often ìthrow-away kidsî and we must increase the capacity of rehabilitative centres to rescue them.

Child Prostitution

There are an estimated 10,000 children living on the streets of Toronto, with a large percentage involved in the sex trade.  Approximately 600 children are involved in the sex trade in Montreal, and 400 in Calgary.

A City Rebuffs Child Prostitution

Child prostitution peaked in Calgary in about 1993, he says, when city residents rose up to fight it.  But progress came slowly and in stages.

Vancouver To Get Help In Fight Against Child Prostitution

British Columbia is expected to unveil plans today for increased support to help Vancouver police identify pimps and prostitutes' customers in an attempt to reduce the sexual exploitation of children in the city.

Clueless in Quebec - Teen prostitutes shame a city

In Quebec City, police have been going after pimps and their clients in a teenage prostitution and strip club racket. Defendants include thuggish characters from the Caribbean, the alleged pimps, and some of the city's most prominent citizens, who are among the alleged clients. Ordinary citizens are embarrassed and ashamed that their beloved city's reputation has been tarnished, and they're outraged by reports that the young prostitutes, girls as young as 14, were recruited at shopping malls with jewelry and fancy clothing. Finally, people in Quebec are worried that police will not press the case against some influential members of the Quebec community.

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Human Trafficking in  [Canada]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Canada]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Canada]  [other countries]