In 2005, the Canadian government enacted criminal laws against human trafficking. To this day, despite amendments, these anti-trafficking laws lack a substantive basis in empirical evidence and often have the effect of harming those in marginalized positions—such as...
Anti-trafficking
SWAN Vancouver speaks to House of Commons Committee
On Monday May 15, 2023, SWAN Vancouver spoke to the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women for its study on human trafficking. Executive Director Angela made the following presentation:Download a PDF of SWAN's brief here >Summary"Most...
Intro to the Harms of Anti-Trafficking
How can an anti-trafficking campaign cause harm? While often well-intended, anti-trafficking campaigns carry a host of problems: They contribute to an unfounded moral panic in society They utilize sensational narratives and inflated, debunked statistics They...
Brief to the Justice and Human Rights Committee on Bill C-36: Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act
In February 2022, SWAN submitted a Brief to the Justice and Human Rights Committee on Bill C-36 and testified at the hearings.
Think again
Think Again is a social media campaign that challenges people to think critically about their involvement with mainstream anti-trafficking campaigns. The images in this campaign highlight how anti-trafficking campaigns may be incompatible
Anti-Trafficking: Harming While Trying to Help
Since the early 2000s, SWAN Vancouver Society (SWAN) has mobilised against human trafficking. Through this work we’ve learned a few things about what makes an anti-trafficking action or campaign effective.