Canadian Mental Health Association Cariboo Chilcotin Branch’s community based victim services (CBVS) is preparing to launch an official website to increase awareness regarding human trafficking in the Williams Lake area.

Facilitator of educational programs, Dana Sarauer provided education to more than 300 School District 27 youth on the subject and healthy relationships during the 2019-2020 school year.

“Even though we don’t have specific stats of how many victims there may be in Williams Lake, we do know that we actively are having youth being exposed to human trafficking advertisements whether it’s online or in the community,” Sarauer said.

Nearly one out of every three students surveyed had been exposed to human trafficking advertisements.

Of the 315 police-reported incidents of human trafficking in Canada in 2018, almost all of the victims were women and girls, said Statistics Canada. Nearly three-quarters were under the age of 25, and the majority knew the accused, whether it be their friend or acquaintance, or a current or former spouse, common-law partner or other intimate partner.

Read More: Four B.C. residents arrested in Saskatchewan in human-trafficking case

“Parents and students will make every excuse under the sun to say I’m not at risk, but we’re at risk,” Sarauer said.

“Traffickers have a manipulative nature about them, and the fact that they’re putting out advertisements that are disguised as job ads or reaching out to youth online, in general, and pretending to be a nice person, or to be their boyfriend or girlfriend to try and lure in that way, we never really know.”

CBVS works in collaboration with Aboriginal Victim Services and RCMP Victim Services and is currently is looking for a Shuswap (Secwepemctsín) translator for the website work.

According to Sarauer, Indigenous elders had indicated it would be beneficial to have the website available in their traditional language.

Aboriginal Victim Services which provides services all four Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw communities including Tsq’escen’ (Canim Lake Band), Xat’sull/Cm’etem (Soda Creek/Deep Creek Band), T’exelc (Williams Lake Band), and Stswecem’c/Xgat’tem (Canoe Creek Band/Dog Creek Band) declined to comment.

The official website launch in English was expected to be held via Zoom at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 10.

Following the launch, Sarauer hopes to collaborate with surrounding Williams Lake communities and create how-to tool kits for how individuals can assist a victim or survivor they may find.

“Lots of other agencies are very interested in what we’re doing and are attending our website launch and doing what they can to be part of this, so it’s nice to see the collaboration,” Sarauer said.

Williams Lake Tribune