N.S. human trafficking issue has ‘parallels’ with intimate partner violence

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

Human trafficking in Nova Scotia is a crisis and the levels of violence against women and girls continue to be an epidemic.

Both crimes disproportionately impact females and the signs that something is wrong within a relationship are very similar. However, one RCMP officer says growing general violence is to blame.

“It’s not the same people in both crimes, the reasons definitely have significant parallels,” Sgt. Jeff MacFarlane with the RCMP told CityNews in an interview. “It’s definitely becoming more dangerous and we’re seeing more violence.”

Related:

• Advocate pushes for case review on violence against women
• RCMP committed to addressing rise in intimate partner violence: Chief superintendent
• Halifax among the highest reporting of human trafficking incidents in Canada: RCMP

MacFarlane points to theories on media, social media and pornography on the internet showing more violence against women as some of the reasons why there is a growing trend. The federal government points to systematic “gender inequality” as the reason.

“When you compare just generally violence against women, whether it be through homicides, through exploitation and human trafficking, just generally it’s a large issue across the country,” he said.

Recognizing human trafficking

If people come forward to report human trafficking, MacFarlane says depending on the evidence, officers can lay charges within days. But what is difficult is for that victim to come forward.

When police tell the public to watch for signs of being trafficked, the tips are similar to those who could be victims of intimate partner violence: A controlling relationship or withdrawing from family/friends.

The big difference between a person being trafficked and intimate partner violence is the victim being forced to do something they don’t want to.

“It seems bizarre, but they don’t even realize they are being trafficked,” he said. “They’ve met someone over the internet…They might think that they’re entering into a relationship…But they’re actually being groomed to enter the sex industry.”

This type of human trafficking is common for MacFarlane to see. He says that traffickers target women and girls who are often of racialized backgrounds.

“Even if your (partner) is causing you to steal from the grocery store in order to pay the rent or to feed a drug habit or whatever, that in itself is still a form of trafficking,” he said.

These groups of victims are driven by money but aren’t seeing financial benefits for themselves. Communities across Nova Scotia affected by economic challenges are often impacted by human trafficking, the officer explained.

“Whether (they’re being impacted by) housing, addictions, education, and even just general health, these people are more likely to be victimized in this sense because they have a lack of opportunity and they don’t have the support that they need in order to avoid being victimized,” he said.

Highest rate of trafficking in the country

Nova Scotia has the highest rate of human trafficking across the country. According to Statistics Canada, the province recorded 6.3 incidents per 100,000 people in 2023, more than double Ontario (at 2.1 incidents) and the national average (at 1.4 incidents).

Despite efforts by the province and RCMP to implement a specific unit to tackle the issue, researchers from StatCan note that N.S. is at a disadvantage.

“Previous research from advocates and police investigations suggests that Nova Scotia in general, and Halifax in particular, are part of a trafficking corridor frequently used to move victims from Atlantic Canada to the rest of the country,” it reads.

MacFarlane says this has been a persistent issue for the province over the last decade.

A graph by Statistics Canada showing the number of victims of human trafficking in Canada.

“When you’re treating these victims as commodities — it’s like selling drugs but it never runs out — this is the issue that we’re dealing with all across the country, these traffickers are realizing there’s financial benefit to exploiting these people,” he said.

Whether it’s women and girls or men and boys, MacFarlane says traffickers must see a demand for people; made especially easier with the internet and social media.

Those who fear they could be being trafficked would never see charges against them, MacFarlane said. Police are interested in the people who forced victims into the situation.

“We want to put traffickers in jail, we want to make it difficult to be a trafficker in this province, but that’s not the only way that we’re going after this issue,” he said. “Sometimes just supporting the victims and getting them to a place of safety is a win for us.”