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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2015-04-29, Page 1616 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, April 29, 2015 Human Trafficking was feature topic at Wingham training presentation Grey Bruce youth engagement workshops Recognizing "National Victims of Crime Awareness Week" in Huron County Valerie Gillies Lucknow Sentinel Victim Services, Huron County hosted a full day training presentation at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Wingham on April 23, 2015 in recognition of "National Victim Crime Awareness Week" (Victims Week). This training opportunity was made possible within Huron County through a grant from Justice Canada. Attendees includes those who work in health care, policing and in various social and victim service agencies. Michelle Field, Executive Director of Victim Services, Huron County describes the focus of the presentation. "I think it's important to recognize our community, its celebration in remembering victims of crime and our initiative in working together to shape a better Huron County" Information about Victims Week can be found on the national website http://vic- timsweek.gc. ca/abt-apd/ index.html. According to the site, "The goal of Victims Week is to raise awareness about issues facing victims of crime and the services, programs and laws in place to help victims and their families." The theme for 2015 is "Shaping the Future Together': This theme recog- nizes that many of the vic- tims want to move beyond their victimization to not be defined by it, but to shape their own future. It also rec- ognizes the numerous pro- fessionals and volunteers throughout Canada who dedicate their time to help- ing victims to shape their future, including through Victim Services and through the criminal justice system. Keynote speaker Simone Bell is a survivor of Human Trafficking, the topic of the presentation in Wingham. Bell is a native of Scotland. She immigrated to Canada with her family when she was a young teen. She came from a professional family, was popular, a good student and active in sports and commu- nity life. She did experiment with recreational drugs, but her victimization came about Valerie Gillies/Lucknow Sentine Simone Bell was the keynote speaker on Human Trafficking at the Victim Services training presentation during "National Victims of Crime Awareness Week". The full-day session was held at the Wingham Knights of Columbus Hall on April 23, 2015. through a romantic relation- ship in her early 20s. Bell did not know that her boyfriend was involved in criminal activities. He used classic techniques to exploit her for the purposes of forced sex work in Eastern and Central Ontario over a four year period. Currently Bell lives in the Ottawa area and is involved in a court case surrounding her victimization. She is actively involved in the design, devel- opment and delivery of victim support services. Bell is involved in peer mentoring to survivors of human trafficking through Roos -Remillard Con- sulting Services. Using her own experience and case studies, Bell gives presentations and training to groups such as the one in Wingham to help bridge the gaps in response, techniques and outreach methods for law enforcement, the health sec- tor and social service frontline workers to create a safety net of care. Bell emphasizes that many of these professionals do not get training in recog- nizing or dealing with human trafficking victims. However, she stresses "it takes just one person to reach out and talk to the victim and probe for the information that will help the victim to self -identify as hav- ing been involved in human trafficking." Often victims do not know what human traf- ficking is and just to be given a label and knowing that they are not the only one this has happened to is key to escap- ing the situation. There are several red flags to identify victims of human trafficking when they are encountered bylaw enforce- ment or health care workers. The identifiers include physi- cal and emontional signs, the key terms used by the victim and addictions. They need care rooted in the principles of trauma -informed and patient -centred care. More information on the signs and considerations for care are available at www.roosremil- lardconsulting.ca. If only the obvious symptoms are treated, the opportunity is missed to help them link to the essential resources they need to get out of the situa- tion. Each time a victim is seen by professionals and not helped, it adds to the hope- lessness and despair of isola- tion and they spiral deeper into depression, often with tragic results. Since domestic abuse is an element of human trafficking, existing services to help with domes- tic abuse are a good starting point to help human traffick- ing victims. Bell lists some of the things that a human trafficker looks for in identifying their victims. They look for vulnerable youth, those who are isolated and may have poor relation- ship role models. They also look for youth who are not engaged, since it is natural for youth to crave to see the world. Traffickers are often drug dealers and lure their victims to crack houses to get them addicted. Once the youth is addicted they become dependent on the trafficker for, not only the drug, but for providing the basic needs of life. It is manip- ulating these needs while, at the same time, isolating the victim further and seeming to look after them that allows them to exploit them. Bell states, "if you take someone who is a hostage, is raped and experiencing domestic abuse repeatedly, often daily, then you have a victim of human trafficking, which is a 24/7 business, not the ladies of the night scenario that most asso- ciate with prostitution:' Once a victim is identified, the first response should be immediate health care. Gen- erally the next step is help with addiction. From there, it will take a lot of therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disor- der (PTSD) for both the vic- tim and the parents or car- egivers. They need to find their identity as theirs has been stripped from them through the exploitation process. Survivors must be taught reflection of where they were and where they are now. It is important to give support and training to the family to ensure that the human trafficking victim is not revictimized by the fam- ily due to lack of under- standing that it was not the victim's fault that this has happened to them and that they need to relearn who they are as a person. The best way to deal with human trafficking is preven- tion. Parents and guardians need to educate their children. As Bell states, "if you don't teach kids respect and morals then someone else will." Most important is to teach children the two most important state- ments: "It's okay to say no" and "No means no." Human trafficking is not just an urban issue. It can happen anywhere to anyone. Bell advises that the best things that parents can do to prevent their children from being victimized, including those in rural areas, is to get them out into the world. Get them into volunteering or into sports and activities where they will be focused, involved and engaged. In order to help victims of human trafficking and to pre- vent it in the future many things need to happen. The courts and judges need to be educated about human traf- ficking to provide better jus- tice to victims. Workers need training to know how to deal with the victims. The public needs to be educated in order for parents to help their chil- dren to not become victims. Bell has become a survivor by not letting her victimiza- tion shape her life. She is now shaping her own by using an event in her life to create her career to help others. If you would like to contact Simone Bell to arrange for speaking engagements, training or advisory services, you can reach her at simone@roosre- millardconsulting.ca. We C.A.R.E. Project SHARE Submitted In conjunction with Men- tal Health Week, the Grey Bruce We C.A.R.E Project is hosting two workshops addressing youth mental health wellness. The work- shops are an opportunity for both adults and youth to learn, talk, reflect and engage with others on issues relating to mental health in Grey Bruce. Keynote speaker Kendra Fisher, a former member of the Team Canada Women's Hockey team, offers hope to others as she shares her personal journey through anxiety and depression. Additional sessions include what to look for; effective listening; taking care of yourself; and, where to find help in Grey and Bruce Counties. There will also be demonstrations of yoga, martial arts, fun with cook- ing, app development and humour. These are all ways to take care of yourself when stressful situations arise. The free workshops will be held Thursday, May 7, at Walkerton Pentecostal Church, Highway 9 and Friday, May 8, at the Har- mony Centre, 890 4th Ave East, Owen Sound. Both workshops are from 9 am to 2:30 pm and include free lunch. The Grey Bruce We C.A.R.E. Project brings together more than a dozen community agencies and area school boards to sup- port youth mental health wellness. Their vision is that everyone in Grey Bruce will make a commitment to show We C.A.R.E... Con- nect with, Ask about, Reach out to, and Engage with youth and their families to increase awareness, under- standing, compassion and support for youth mental health. For more information and to register, visit www.WeCar- eGreyBruce.ca. The website also provides practical tools and resources to support youth mental health well- ness in Grey Bruce.