What is human trafficking?
A simple question.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple answer.
Canada defines human trafficking in the Criminal Code as
the recruitment, transportation, harbouring and/or exercise of control, direction or influence over the movement of persons for the purpose of exploitation, typically for sexual exploitation or forced labour,
while the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations state
no person shall knowingly organize the coming into Canada of one or more persons by means of abduction, fraud, deception or use or threat of force or coercion.
But by its own admission, the federal government does not use a single, consistent definition of human trafficking across its laws and policies. The government has called for the development of a common definition, but this has not occurred.1 2
Therefore, one of the major barriers to understanding and addressing human trafficking effectively is the lack of a clear and consistent definition.
In Canada, most anti-trafficking groups use a simplified version of the United Nations definition that includes an act, means, and purpose.
However, Canada’s definition of human trafficking differs from the United Nations’ definition in three ways.
Canada
does not
require
the means component (threats, coercion, force, etc.)
the victim to be moved, cross-border or nationally
the involvement of organized crime.3
Watch this video for a further breakdown of these two definitions.
Anti-trafficking organizations have different ideas about what counts as human trafficking, depending on what they focus on.
The lack of a consistent trafficking definition and its conflation with other issues contribute to misunderstanding and complicate efforts to prevent and address the problem effectively. Regardless of how it is defined, exploitation is always present in cases of human trafficking.
Exploitation
Exploitation exists on a spectrum, and it can be helpful to think of human trafficking as the extreme end of a ‘spectrum of exploitation’.
Decent
Work
Labour Law
Violations
Human Rights
Violations
Criminal Code
Violations
Human
Trafficking
Image Source: Canadian Council for Refugees4
All human trafficking involves exploitation, but not all exploitation is considered human trafficking.
Many people face unsafe work conditions, unpaid wages, or abuse on the job—experiences that are not trafficking but can escalate into trafficking.
Many anti-trafficking initiatives focus solely on the extreme end of the spectrum—human trafficking—and overlook more common issues like labour abuses against migrant workers or violence toward sex workers that do not qualify as human trafficking.
While the rest of the spectrum may not sound as serious or attention-grabbing as human trafficking, these everyday abuses are what make people vulnerable and create the conditions for trafficking to occur.
When we focus only on human trafficking, we miss supporting
people with other urgent needs or providing services that do not fit their situation.
It’s important to address the entire spectrum if we want people to be safe and prevent the extreme cases of trafficking.
Additionally, trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation (“sex trafficking”) receives most of the attention. People focus less on exploitation and trafficking in sectors such as agriculture, construction, and domestic caregiving.
GAATW Canada encourages a broader understanding of trafficking that recognizes exploitation and trafficking across all labour sectors, not just the sex industry.
What Trafficking Is Not
Human trafficking is the most severe form of exploitation and may include other issues such as child abuse, sexual assault, or domestic violence. These issues are serious, but we cannot effectively address them or human trafficking if we treat everything as ‘trafficking.’
Issues commonly conflated with human trafficking include:
Child abuse
Online child exploitation
Pornography
Domestic violence
Sex work
Irregular migration
Human smuggling
Kidnapping
Each of these has a unique legal definition and appropriate responses, and mislabeling them can result in interventions that fail to protect people’s rights or address their actual needs.
Our approach
GAATW Canada advocates for solutions that prevent and address all forms of violence and exploitation, including trafficking, by strengthening legal and labour protections across all sectors, including sex work.
Strong protections and rights-based policies help prevent exploitation, ensure people know their rights, and improve access to support, fostering decent and safe work environments and communities where exploitation cannot take hold.
1 Government of Canada. Standing Committee on the Status of Women. (2024). Act Now: Preventing Human Trafficking of Women, Girls and Gender Diverse People in Canada. 1st session, 44th Parliament. February 2024.
2 Government of Canada. Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. (2018). Moving Forward In The Fight Against Human Trafficking In Canada. 1st session, 42nd Parliament. December 2018.
4 The Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children. (2024). Spectrum of Exploitation.