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⁤ Public policy analyst Julia Drydyk‍ discusses her article “

Human trafficking isn’t what you think: Why education is key⁢ to
stopping it.” julia⁢ clarifies the crucial distinction between human smuggling ‍and
human trafficking, explaining that trafficking involves exploitation
thru coercion regardless of geographic movement, often⁤ occurring⁤ within
communities rather then solely at borders. She‍ addresses how⁤ popular
⁢media perpetuates ⁢misconceptions, leading people to overlook the subtle,
psychological tactics traffickers employ, frequently enough involving individuals
known and trusted by the victim. Julia emphasizes that traffickers target
vulnerabilities like poverty, homelessness, and mental health disorders,
⁤ posing as caring figures to establish control. She highlights the‍ urgent
⁣need for public education to recognize the real signs of trafficking, such
⁣ as behavioral changes, ⁢unexplained absences, or signs of control⁣ by
⁤ another person, enabling ‍Canadians to bridge the gap ⁣between good
intentions and effective action.

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Transcript

Kevin Pho: Hi, and welcome to the show. Subscribe at
KevinMD.com/podcast. Today⁣ we welcome Julia Drydyk. She’s a public policy
analyst. Today’s KevinMD ⁢article is, “Human trafficking isn’t what you
‍ think: Why education is key to stopping it.” Julia, welcome to the show.

Julia Drydyk: Thank you⁣ so much for having me.

Kevin Pho: Let’s briefly share your story and journey and
⁤ what led‍ you to contribute this article on KevinMD.

Julia Drydyk: I’m currently the executive director at the
Canadian Center to End Human⁣ Trafficking, and I joined about six years
⁤⁢ ago. Before that, I spent about 15 years working in research,‍ public
policy, and evaluation on issues like poverty reduction, community
‍ progress, social‍ inclusion, and employment.

I was really drawn to the issue of human trafficking because it exists ⁤at
the intersection of where all of ⁤those⁣ other⁣ systems fail. A big part of
‍ our article⁤ is that human trafficking isn’t what you think. It’s largely
an intersectional issue. It looks a lot more ⁣like intimate partner
⁤ violence than smuggling.

‍ ⁣ ‍ Traffickers are looking for people with vulnerabilities⁢ in their lives, and
that’s usually where these bigger systems are failing⁢ them. It’s a huge
‍privilege to work in this space. It’s hard, but it definitely gives me a
lot of passion every day.

Kevin Pho: Before going into your article, let’s have ⁤some
‍ brief definitions to get everyone up ⁤to speed. What’s⁤ the definition of
⁤ human trafficking?

Julia Drydyk: Put really simply, human trafficking is when
⁤ ⁤ you’re exploiting someone else for your own profit or gain. Unlike what a
⁤ lot of people think or maybe even see in the movies, it doesn’t
⁣ ‍ necessarily, and‍ it often doesn’t, involve smuggling or moving people
⁣ across borders. It’s really when you’re taking advantage of someone for
your own profit.

In Canada,and I’d⁤ argue probably in the U.S., ⁢the two biggest forms ⁢of
human trafficking are sex trafficking and also labor trafficking. It’s
⁤ when someone is controlling, deceiving, manipulating, or threatening
someone, either in the commercial sex industry or in other forms of‍ labor,
to do things against their will‍ for someone else’s profit. There always
needs ⁣to be that third party that is profiting from the exploitation.

Kevin Pho: Then going to your KevinMD article, what are
⁤ some myths? What are some misconceptions that most of us have about human
trafficking?
‍

Julia Drydyk: This is one of the biggest challenges ⁢we
have in the fight‍ to end human trafficking: people, again, think of the
movie Taken. They think that this means people are being kidnapped off the
street or in their homes, smuggled across borders ⁤in shipping containers,
chained ⁤to radiators, and then being sexually abused and exploited.

⁤ That can happen,‍ but more frequently enough than not, and we see this all the time in
⁢ operating ‍the Canadian ‍Human Trafficking hotline, it’s actually someone
⁤ the victim knows, loves, ‍and⁢ trusts. They embed themselves as someone,
like a⁣ boyfriend, a friend, or, horrifically enough, it can ⁢also be ⁤a
family member. In the case of the boyfriend trafficker, they’ll start by
⁣ ⁢ being a⁣ romeo. They’ll find out the person’s greatest dreams and
aspirations and their biggest fears. They’ll give them and shower them
with everything they’ve ever‍ wanted. That⁤ can⁣ look like expensive clothes,
bags, and ⁣purses. It can ⁣also just mean a roof over their head, stable
meals, and ⁢the promise of unconditional love.

Quite quickly, sometimes in a matter of weeks or months, they start
clawing that back. Then they start telling them,“You owe‍ me ‍something.
⁢ ‍ Think of all the ⁢money, everything I’ve⁤ given ‍you. You need to start
pitching in.” They’ll use that as a way to groom them into the commercial
sex industry. Often, when‍ you’re at the peak stage of exploitation,
⁤ victims have no control over their lives. They don’t control when they
⁢ eat, when they sleep, who they see, or how ⁤many sexual activities they
⁤ have to do in exchange for money every day. Overwhelmingly, the vast
majority of the ⁣profits all go to ⁢the trafficker. This is all for their
profit, and it’s largely through that emotional⁣ control and coercion.

⁢ There is frequently enough physical violence, but more often than not, it’s that
psychological ⁢bond that’s used to threaten and ⁢to keep⁤ people in this
‍ horrible situation.

Kevin Pho: It seems to be that in the situation that you
described, where the perpetrator could ⁢be a boyfriend, ⁤the Romeo, and ‍it
⁤ eventually slowly descends into commercial exploitation and being groomed,
there are steps in between where some can think that there may be some
off-ramp. In terms of a typical path for a trafficking case,does the