From its earliest days, The Salvation Army has advocated on behalf of destitute women and children. Without any means of support, these women would remain vulnerable to sexual and/or economic exploitation. Throughout the world, The Salvation Army operates safe havens for women at risk, offering them material, emotional and spiritual support.

Brenda Wootten is the director of Florence Booth House in Toronto. She speaks to Salvationist.ca about the centre and its mission to help trafficked victims.

Tell us about Florence Booth House.
Florence Booth House is working with Toronto’s most vulnerable women. They are the most at risk because they are homeless or are marginally housed and have additional issues such as substance abuse, involvement in street sex work, transsexuality and chronic mental health issues including post traumatic stress disorder.

Our centre’s namesake, Florence Booth, was the daughter-in-law of Salvation Army founder William Booth and she is well-remembered for advocating for women who were being bought into slavery. Many people, including her husband, thought she was exaggerating about the issue until 1885, when a girl appeared on the doorstep of the Salvation Army headquarters, telling her story of escaping the night before from a prostitution house. Trafficking has been around for a very long time, and we want to get back to the grass roots of The Salvation Army’s work to end it.

How is Florence Booth House helping trafficking victims?
We are currently educating our community on trafficking; working with the Toronto Police and the R.C.M.P. Staff at Florence Booth House are going out on the streets with the Toronto Police as well as a Salvation Army breakfast van to build relationships with those caught up in the sex industry. We want to gain trust so that people will believe that there is hope. We are also looking possible additional programming for commercially sexually exploited women, and conducting awareness workshops about trafficking. We developed a brochure and did a two page article on trafficking in our very first newsletter.

Are there particular trafficking trends you have noticed through your work?
It is difficult for us to see trafficking trends, because victims are still too afraid to come forward. We are working closely with homeless street sex workers, many of whom have been (domestically) trafficked. One area of concern we have is for victims of trafficking who no longer have “the looks” or those who become so addicted to drugs that they are no longer useful to the trafficker. What then do they become? Homeless street sex workers?

You are the divisional representative for Ontario Central-East on the territorial anti-trafficking network. What is happening in this division to combat trafficking?
As a division, our mandate is to educate our congregations and our communities about trafficking. It is our desire to eliminate the demand for commercial sex. This includes educating people about pornography, and creating awareness with our youth. We also believe in advocating for the victims of sexual exploitation whenever we have the chance. As a division, we are also looking into what programs we can offer to commercially sexually exploited women.

You are leading a Salvation Army team to Mexico in a few weeks. How is this trip related to anti-trafficking?
The Salvation Army Mexico Territory has started a “Trafficking Prevention” project in La Gloria. Families have migrated to La Gloria for the work that is offered in this area. Due to the long hours of work and lack of extended family to care for the children, the children are left on their own for a significant amount of time each day. Long black limousines roll into this community and well-dressed men emerge to talk with the young children. We know that they are at risk of being trafficked.

The Salvation Army has begun a significant work, offering protection to these little ones. They operate a day-care program from 5:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. for newborns up to 10-year-olds. While their parents/guardians work in nearby factories, the children are protected and nurtured. The Canada & Bermuda Territory has partnered with Mexico and is in the process of buying property to support this project. Our team of seven will be partnering with the corps officers and helping them work with families; giving parents tools to protect their children and educating the community at-large about trafficking.