The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking has launched a national hotline aiming to help victims and survivors of human trafficking, as well as educate the public about the issue.
The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking has launched a national hotline aiming to help victims and survivors of human trafficking, as well as educate the public about the issue.
Available 24/7, the multilingual hotline is the first of its kind in Canada, and it can be accessed at 1-833-900-1010, the centre said in a statement.
According to Barbara Gosse, CEO of The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking, the hotline will give victims and survivors access to critical resources and will help law enforcement dismantle human trafficking networks across the country.
Individuals can contact the hotline if they are victims/survivors of forced prostitution or forced labour, think they might be or think someone else might be. The hotline’s response advocates will also take tips, answer questions and forward information, when appropriate, to law enforcement.
The hotline is supported by both public and private sectors. Funding comes from Public Safety Canada and several family foundations, along with generous donations from Canadians. Five of Canada's largest legal teams — Dentons, Fasken, Torys, Goodmans and Thomson Reuters — have provided numerous pro bono hours to assist the effort.
“People find it hard to believe, but human trafficking is a real threat to vulnerable individuals across this country,” Grosse said. “Law enforcement officials and survivors tell us that the statistics grossly underestimate the number of individuals, many of them children, trapped by this human rights abuse. We all have a moral and an ethical obligation to make a positive difference, and the hotline is a vital step in this process.”
