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<\/p>\nDown the street from a group home in Moncton, someone waits for the young residents to come out for their free time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This person knows what time youth in care of the provincial government are allowed to leave the home, according to Maggie.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maggie is a support worker at Community of Hope in Moncton, a service for victims of human trafficking. CBC News has agreed not to use her full name for safety reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Human trafficking means that someone works to gain control over another person and exploits them for material gain. <\/p>\n
WATCH | \u2018They know where the group homes and foster homes are\u2019:<\/p>\n
N.B. group home youth targeted for human trafficking<\/p>\n
Youth in the province\u2019s care can be especially vulnerable to human trafficking, according to police and service providers. The CBC\u2019s Savannah Awde has the story, as part of the series Left Behind.<\/p>\n
A trafficker will learn over time what the youth wants most and make a point of giving it to them \u2014 to show the youth they can be trusted, Maggie said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the teenagers are out, they’ll be like, \u2018Hey, you want a cigarette? \u2026 I’ll take you to the mall and get you some new clothes\u2019,\u201d Maggie said in an interview.<\/p>\n
For a young person who hasn’t had a stable home life, or has been moved away from their home to live in care, Maggie said this person can offer a sense of safety and connection.<\/p>\n
She said the person will work in a calculated way to meet the youth\u2019s needs \u2014 and soon, what is, in fact, a dangerous situation begins to feel like safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGiving them gifts, meeting all those survival needs \u2014 it’s definitely very easy for [youth] to fall into that trap.\u201d<\/p>\n
Youth trafficking concerns on radar of police<\/p>\n
The risk to group home youth is known to police in New Brunswick.<\/p>\n
In a case heard by the Court of King\u2019s Bench earlier this year, an officer in the Saint John Police Department testified about the scope of the issue.<\/p>\n
A summary of the investigator\u2019s testimony is in a published decision issued in March by Justice Danys R.X. Delaquis.<\/p>\n
The officer \u201cexplained that human trafficking is \u2018prevalent\u2019 and currently under police investigation in respect of individuals who have associations with and\/or target group homes,\u201d that decision noted.<\/p>\n
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The risk to youth in care is known to several police forces in New Brunswick. (Michael Heenan\/CBC)<\/p>\n
\u201cHe described human trafficking as the \u2018modern day slavery.\u2019 In essence, youth cannot appreciate the risk, and are unable to realize the danger, due to drug use. Youth do not have protection, do not return, and end up in other cities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The issue is also on the radar of the RCMP.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice have investigated reports that youth in these environments have been victimized through sexual exploitation or involved in situations of human trafficking,\u201d the force said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Sgt. Holly Erb, the New Brunswick RCMP\u2019s sexual violence co-ordinator, said the youth often don\u2019t realize the situation they\u2019re in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don’t see themselves as victims,\u201d Erb said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Sgt. Holly Erb says it’s important for institutions and services working with youth to collaborate on prevention. (Hadeel Ibrahim\/CBC)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s not until things are outside of their control that they recognize then there’s a need for help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Erb said the best way to look out for, or prevent, human trafficking would be to increase education and collaboration among the different agencies that work with vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n
That would include police, the Social Development Department or any sort of social assistance, and even teachers, health professionals and community agencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can increase that education in the public, then we can increase the amount of support that we can give and hopefully prevent human trafficking from occurring,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Romeo pimp\u2019 can target vulnerable youth<\/p>\n
Ashley MacDonald works at YWCA Brave in Moncton with youth who are at risk of trafficking.<\/p>\n
She has also heard from survivors about group homes being targeted.<\/p>\n
MacDonald cautions that this doesn\u2019t mean that all group home youth are automatically less safe, but that there are several risk factors inherent to that setting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI imagine young people in group homes are not super happy to be there, right? They’d probably rather have their perfect life play out,\u201d MacDonald said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead they’re living out of \u2026 their home community, away from their family systems. Maybe they had to change schools. That’s stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Ashley MacDonald says YWCA Brave, a program for youth at risk of human trafficking, regularly works with youth living in group homes. (Michael Heenan\/CBC)<\/p>\n
Connecting with the trafficker will typically feel good to the youth at first, according to MacDonald.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we see nine times out of 10 is what’s called a Romeo pimp, and the person, youth or otherwise, thinks that they’re falling in love,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s not scary. \u2026 It’s like, ‘Tell me about you.’ So it seems kind, and maybe it’s nice to be asked how your day was and \u2026 tell your story a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Social media has given traffickers yet another avenue to target youth, MacDonald said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s something Mel Kennah has seen as well.<\/p>\n
Kennah, now executive director of Youth Impact Jeunesse, has worked with youth in care for decades.<\/p>\n
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Mel Kennah says traffickers can take advantage of a youth’s need for connection when they’ve had ‘fractured’ or ‘interrupted’ relationships with adults. (Submitted by Mel Kennah)<\/p>\n
He recalled working with a teenage girl in care who was receiving messages online from older men \u2014 but she didn\u2019t seem to understand why Kennah was concerned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was swimming in very dangerous waters, you know, at times, and had no idea that there was a shark in the pool with her,\u201d Kennah said.<\/p>\n
He said youth in care are more vulnerable to trafficking because of \u201cfractured\u201d or \u201cinterrupted\u201d relationships with the adults they depend on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery young person needs an adult in their life that, that has a strong connection with them \u2026 looking out for their best interests,\u201d Kennah said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd unfortunately, not everybody does, at least not all the time in their developmental years. So that would not be unusual for the young people coming into [care].\u201d<\/p>\n
Victims can be told \u2018now you owe me\u2019<\/p>\n
Back at Community of Hope, community ambassador Liz Hawkes said the average age of a trafficking victim is 13.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, the younger they are, the more money they do bring in, so they have become a target,\u201d Hawkes said.<\/p>\n
Experts warn that trafficking often doesn\u2019t start off looking dangerous or violent.<\/p>\n
Instead, Maggie said, it\u2019s common for traffickers to use \u201clove bombing\u201d to win over a victim by showering them with gifts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Over time, the trafficker’s relationship with a youth will turn exploitative, according to Liz Hawkes at Community of Hope. (Michael Heenan\/CBC)<\/p>\n
In other cases, Maggie said, the trafficker will \u201cbrand\u201d their victim with a tattoo.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don’t recognize there’s a problem because they’re already, you know, emotionally involved,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Maggie said some victims she works with will refer to their trafficker as their \u201cboyfriend\u201d when they first show up at Community of Hope.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Hawkes said the relationship becomes exploitative as the trafficker demands the youth pay them back for the gifts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trafficker will then say, \u2018Well, look at all I’ve done for you, now you owe me,’\u201d Hawkes said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Just consistently reinforce how valuable they are\u2019<\/p>\n
Even when someone understands the relationship is exploitative, MacDonald said, it can still take time for them to leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve heard anywhere from five to 20 attempts to leave trafficking before you’re actually out of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After leaving a relationship where they are highly controlled, she said, the person may still make decisions based on fear of their trafficker.<\/p>\n
Kennah said he\u2019s seen youth victims \u201cshut down\u201d or be fearful about decision-making.<\/p>\n
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Supporting youth victims to practise decision-making about their life is central to recovery, service providers say. (Michael Heenan\/CBC)<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why MacDonald says YWCA Brave encourages youth in recovery to regain control over their decision-making.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I meet young people, I always say, ‘you’re leading the ship. So where do we go from here?’\u201d MacDonald said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She encourages group home staff, parents and other caregivers to build strong relationships with young people in their care and to make it clear that the youth can depend on them no matter what.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the best things we could do is just consistently reinforce how valuable they are.\u201d<\/p>\n