Is Ontario Facing a Human Trafficking Crisis? | The Rundown

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According to Statistics Canada, between 2014 and 2024, police reported more than 5,000 thousand cases of human trafficking - and experts say that's just the tip of the iceberg. Over 90 per cent of the victims were women and girls, most of them under the age of 25. Data shows that Ontario's rates exceed the national average. So why is this such a big problem here and now - and what else could be done to stop it? We discuss with Kiaras Gharabaghi, the dean of the Faculty of Community Services at TMU and the co-director of the Centre for Combating Child Sex Trafficking and Online Child Sexual Exploitation; Liz Molligan, the director of intake at Children's Aid Society Toronto; Melanie Clark, a staff sergeant in investigative services with the Guelph Police Service; and Casandra Diamond, an anti-human-trafficking specialist and founder of BridgeNorth Advocacy, an organization dedicated to ending sexual exploitation in Canada. 00:00 Intro 00:44 What Is Human Trafficking? A Clear Definition 01:25 Human Trafficking vs. Drug and Labour Trafficking 02:09 What Human Trafficking Looks Like in Canada 03:15 Police‑Reported Human Trafficking Data in Canada 03:48 Child Welfare Perspective on Youth Exploitation 04:39 Survivor Perspective: How Young Victims Really Are 06:00 Why Ontario Is a Human Trafficking Hub 08:11 Why G Has One of Canada’s Highest Reported Rates 10:29 Why Youth Are Especially Vulnerable 11:59 How Quickly Online Grooming Can Happen 12:25 How Traffickers Target Vulnerable Youth 13:26 Common Risk Factors Seen by Child Welfare 14:09 How Children’s Aid Intervenes and Supports Families 15:02 Police Focus on Safety, Not Just Arrests 15:46 Warning Signs Parents and Communities Should Watch For 17:00 The Four Stages of Exploitation 18:15 Why Victims Often Don’t Come Forward 19:37 Isolation, Control, and Financial Dependency 20:43 Trauma Bonds and Barriers to Leaving 22:01 Policy Solutions: What Needs to Change 22:22 Suppressing Demand and Listening to Survivors 23:31 Education, Prevention, and Community Action 24:52 Breaking Silos: A Public Health Approach About The Rundown: The Rundown is your nightly half-hour deep dive into just one headline. With host Jeyan Jeganathan, we’ll cover everything from housing and health care to climate and AI. We’ll break down why each topic matters, who’s living it, and what’s being done to make things better – starting right here in Ontario. Slow down. Tune in. Make sense of the moment. And tell us what you think. Follow on social media: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/therundowntvo Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/TheRundownTVO X- https://twitter.com/therundowntvo Bluesky- https://bsky.app/profile/therundowntvo.bsky.social Subscribe to TVO Today to watch more content like this: https://www.youtube.com/@tvotoday Listen to the podcast: https://www.tvo.org/podcasts/the-rundown-audio Check out the rest of the TVO ecosystem TVO Docs - https://www.youtube.com/@tvo TVO Kids - https://www.youtube.com/@TVOkids TVO Learn - https://www.youtube.com/@tvolearn Download the TVO Today App Apple - https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/tvo-today/id1616182112 Available on: Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung, LG, Amazon Fire TV Enjoying this content and want to make a meaningful impact? Consider donating today! https://support.tvo.org/site/Donation2?mfc_pref=T&idb=599945504&df_id=16843&16843.donation=form1&DONATION_LEVEL_ID_SELECTED=1661&mfc_pref=T