Human trafficking survivor says criminals build ‘trauma bond’ with their victims

A survivor of human trafficking and advocate shared her story in Sudbury this week at a 'lunch and learn' hosted by Angels of Hope Against Human Trafficking.

A survivor of human trafficking shared her story this week at a Lunch and Learn event in Sudbury hosted by Angels of Hope Against Human Trafficking.

Karly Church talked about her lived experience May 13 and about her professional leadership in the field, working with Durham Regional Police in Human Trafficking and Victim Services.

Church said that educating young people about human trafficking empowers them and helps them protect themselves.

“Understanding that aspect of it of just how psychological human trafficking can be,” she said.

“I always wonder to myself if someone came into my high school and actually talked to me about human trafficking and what it truly looked like, would it have happened to me? Or would I have had the information, the knowledge, the skills to really understand what was happening to me before it was too late?”

Church said domestic human trafficking is not what the movies and media portray. She says it’s actually what she described as a ‘trauma bond.’

“In reality, traffickers build a psychological hold around people,” she said.

“It feels as if you can’t leave. You know, it feels as if there are invisible bars or invisible chains.”

Church said the average age of people being recruited into human trafficking is between 12 and 15 years old.

“It’s so young, which is why, again, I think that education is power,” she said.

“I think we need to be educating our young people not only on what to look out for, but also educating them about their own vulnerabilities. Empowering them, teaching them about consent (and) healthy relationships.”

Church said human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing crimes in Canada, with two-thirds of human sex trafficking across the country happening here in Ontario.