The need is greater than ever for Salvationists to get involved.

Sex ring busted at local massage parlour.” “Crystal meth addiction skyrockets.” “Outcry over minimum-wage freeze.” These headlines are ripped from the pages of today’s papers. As the social landscape shifts, how is the Army responding to changing needs? Salvationist spoke with members of the territorial social services department to discern how these issues are impacting front-line services, and what Salvationists can do about them.

Human Trafficking
Statistics indicate that between 700,000 and four million people are being trafficked worldwide in what has become a multibillion-dollar industry. Elaborate links to criminal networks often make it difficult to police and impossible to trace. Human trafficking can take the form of domestic servitude, restaurant and factory work, migrant agricultural work and even organ harvesting.

The chance of Salvation Army workers encountering trafficked persons is real-in women’s shelters, in our work with those in the sex trade, even in family and community services. In cities such as Winnipeg, Ottawa and Moncton, N.B., the Army runs “john schools,” education programs for first-time offenders who have been caught trying to purchase sex from prostituted persons. In the Maritimes, a Salvation Army representative helps advise border police on issues of sexual trafficking. Divisional working groups also meet regularly to discuss strategy and how to raise awareness. In September 2006, the Canada and Bermuda Territory instituted the first annual weekend of prayer and fasting for victims of human trafficking.

People who fall victim to trafficking are often kidnapped or lured by the prospect of a well-paying job and a better life in a foreign country. Before they embark, they are sometimes required to pay a “fee,” which results in a form of debt-bondage. Instead of the new life they were promised, they are forced into a daily hell of isolation and abuse, working as sex slaves to pay off their “debt.” In addition, their passports are often seized by captors, making them believe that they are in Canada illegally and will be jailed if they escape and go to the authorities. The reality is, however, that Canada has laws and protocols in place to care for victims in a way that does not criminalize them.

Mary Ellen Eberlin, territorial social services secretary, notes that government policy has changed and the Army continues to lobby government for further enhancements for shelter and care. “Trafficked persons need to be treated with the utmost dignity,” says Eberlin. “The Army applauds last year’s immigration protocol allowing trafficked people who escape or are rescued a period of amnesty to recover and reflect on what they wish to do.

“We are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. The problem is systemic. It’s an international web of corruption where women and children are bought and sold as commodities. As Salvationists, we need to be aware of it, pray about it and talk about it.”

by Geoff Moulton
Managing Editor, Salvationist and Faith & Friends

Excerpt from Salvationist magazine, April, 2007