Guelph police aim to raise awareness about the prevalence of human trafficking in the community during a seminar on Monday.
Det. Staff Sgt. Melanie Clark said the reality about human trafficking is that it happens all around us, including in residential homes, rentals and encampments.
“Many of us have been to a hotel where there’s a young hockey team playing mini sticks in the hallway, and what you may not know is behind the closed doors, in that same hallway, human trafficking is happening. So, this is the reality of human trafficking,” Clark said.
She said some of the main reasons officers host these events is to let survivors know that the police and community support them, and to warn offenders that their actions are known and won’t be tolerated.
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Clark said human trafficking impacts the community, survivors and victims.
Media relations coordinator Scott Tracey said human trafficking is a term people hear but don’t necessarily understand.
“I think part of the goal for Monday is letting people know just how prevalent it is, maybe some of the warning signs, things that they can look out for,” Tracey said.
During the seminar, there will be a joint presentation from Det. Sgt. James Graham and an educator from Guelph Wellington Women in Crisis. The goal is to educate the community about the prevalence of human trafficking and how to be proactive.
Graham said incidents of human trafficking often go unreported because of fear.
“They (the victims) have kind of been conditioned, potentially from their trafficker, to think what they’re doing is wrong, that they’re going in trouble if they speak with the police,” Graham said.
The at-capacity event was initially designed to raise awareness about human trafficking and intimate partner violence, which police said are often interconnected, but has since been split into two parts.
Officers will also host an awareness event on intimate partner violence in the future.
The seminar at police headquarters on 15 Wyndham St. S begins at 6 p.m.
