CATHII Unveils Paper Referring to Trafficking in Persons During the Pandemic

The Committee for Action Against Internal and International Trafficking in Human Beings (CATHII) has produced a paper providing an overview of the human trafficking situation during the pandemic.

It mentions the United Nations warnings and some of the steps taken at the international level, including a survey of the victims of trafficking and front-line workers.

In Canada and in Quebec, the vulnerability of migrants (without work, risk of deportation, lack of money, etc.) and the increased risk of finding themselves in situations of being trafficked are pointed out. Among the means to protect migrants from exploitation is the reduction of the precarious conditions in which they live.

Positive elements nevertheless

The situation is not much better in cases of sexual exploitation, where there is an increase in cases on the Internet, for example, not to mention the even more difficult working conditions for prostitutes, foreign workers and domestic workers. 

Despite these alarming findings, the document prepared by CATHII points out some positive elements, including:

• Access to screening and health care related to COVID-19 for all people living in the territory of Quebec
• The reopening of Canada’s 24-hour emergency hotline following representations by CATHII
• Closer cooperation among the many community organizations

In addition to the CATHII reference document (in French only), here are two recent UN articles on the subject:

COVID-19 crisis putting human trafficking victims at risk of further exploitation, experts warn

UN rights expert urges States to step-up anti-slavery efforts to protect most vulnerable during COVID-19