A group of youth in a leadership program at the South Burnaby Neighborhood House is organizing a fundraiser to help sexually exploited trafficking victims.
The teens are holding a fashion show and silent art auction on May 5, and 100 per cent of the proceeds goes to Deborah's Gate, a Salvation Army safe house for women who have been trafficked for prostitution. It's one of the first homes of its kind in Canada, and the location is secret to protect the women.
"We also hope this event will raise awareness and counteract the negative misconceptions about human trafficking," said Adrianna Xue, one of the teen organizers. "We had the amazing opportunity to speak with Tara Teng, Miss Canada 2011. She did a presentation on human trafficking and told us stories of her travelling to Cambodia and Thailand. It was completely devastating for all of us to learn about seven-year-old girls being sold for sex. But it was even more shocking for us to learn that it was happening literally right down our street."
Trafficking could be for prostitution or forced labour, but because it is so clandestine, accurate data is difficult to come by.
According to a 2006 report by the U.S. Department of State, between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked across borders each year, but estimates rise to the millions when including "domestic trafficking," where the victim is kept in one country. Canada is considered a source, transit and destination country.
The RCMP estimated that 600 to 800 people are trafficked into Canada annually and that additional 1,500 to 2,200 are trafficked through Canada into the U.S. Most are women and children from Asia, but some Canadian girls and women are trafficked internally for commercial sexual exploitation.
However, trafficking does not necessarily mean crossing borders. The United Nations defines it as "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purposes of exploitation."
Adrianna said the teens chose the cause because it is so close to home.
"It happens right on your doorstep, and you don't even know it. With awareness and support we can hopefully clear up many misconceptions about human trafficking, and it is a step closer to ending this terrible trade," she said.
The fundraiser is set for Saturday, May 5, from 6 to 8 p.m., at 612 Columbia St. in New Westminster. For tickets, call Marleen Eberding at the South Burnaby Neighbourhood House at 604-431-0400.
