Fund Workshops to End Trafficking in Canada

Hello again friends, supporters, and all-around changemakers,  

These past few months we have had the honour of seeing our impact, reach, and community continue to grow. Just last month, over 200 individuals came out to attend our “A Day After Freedom” Decade Event, celebrating the many accomplishments over the last 10 years to end human trafficking and gender-based violence.The impact is immeasurable when we know that thousands of youth, educators, service providers, frontline workers, government officials, police officers, private sector professionals and more have received life-saving and life-changing human trafficking prevention workshops – because of you.

You have allowed our advocacy for human trafficking prevention to reach new heights, such as when the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Tomoya Obokata, reached out to Aura Freedom, seeking our partnership to organize a meeting with various activists, survivors, organizations, stakeholders, and experts on human trafficking.

You have created systemic change in Canada, such as when we led in the Urgent Call to Action that was a catalyst to Mayor Chow declaring Gender-Based Violence and Intimate Partner Violence (which include various forms of trafficking and sexual exploitation) an Epidemic in Toronto.

This same expertise brought to the United Nations and to our government is brought to every individual who comes in contact with our human trafficking and gender-based violence prevention work. And more and more individuals get this opportunity yearly due to your ongoing support.

Since our last report, we have provided workshops and training to numerous frontline services - because we know that we can impact the greatest number of people by equipping the services they access with life-saving human trafficking prevention knowledge, resources, and tools. 

Through your support, we have been able to provide workshops and presentations most recently to Skills for Change, The International Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference, CanWaCH, Fred Victor, and more. 

Some feedback from our Workshops to End Human Trafficking in Canada include: 

"The Human Trafficking Training was much needed for our organization, especially for our staff who support clients that may be survivors of trafficking or at risk."

"Senior leadership and management also needs to take this training as its so informative and important to learn about."

"The need for this knowledge speaks to the importance of providing human trafficking training. We never know who has been affected by human trafficking, staff included"

We thank you for your ongoing dedication to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Canada, especially as we head towards the end of the year. We know this time is often full of the hustle and bustle of the upcoming holiday season. And yet, you continue to give the gift of safety to women and children.

We could not be more grateful.

In solidarity and strength, 

Danielle Warren
Development Manager
Aura Freedom International 

Hello friends, supporters, and fellow advocates and activists, 

Can you believe it? This year marks 10 years of Aura Freedom. That means a decade of sex trafficking and gender-based violence prevention - many of those years dedicated to educating and supporting our youth (who we know need these life-saving resources most). 

We’ve been doing this a long time. But we couldn’t have without you. 

You have allowed us to reach thousands of youth, and thousands more family members, educators, and service providers - all those who have a huge impact on our young people. Your contributions created safer communities, systems, and environments for our children, preventing them from experiencing violence and sexual exploitation. This has changed the course of young people’s lives in our communities.

We are forever grateful. 

Although it has already been a decade, we are ready to continue this fight as long as it takes. After all, we are in it for the long haul. 

Since our last report, we have developed and furthered our connections in our local and national communities. We presented at the Toronto Police Service’s International Human Trafficking Conference, providing a workshop reflective of our human trafficking expertise. Additionally, we led a panel at Equal Future’s 2023 Gender Equality Summit, where we spoke out about the National Emergency that is Gender-Based Violence. 

When we know that 9 of 10 of those trafficked in Canada knew their trafficker, and over 70% of those trafficked in Canada are younger than 25 years old, we know we are speaking about a National Emergency - one that is targeting our youth. That is why this project is so important.

And we didn’t stop there. We provided training to Victim Services of Nipissing District, Amela Rising Sexual Violence Support Centre, Heritage Skills Development Centre, Central Housing Neighbourhood, and Mohawk College, among others. 

From these presentations and trainings, the feedback we have been hearing is that the need for this work has not lessened. In fact, our feedback has echoed the statement of one of our most recent respondents: “We need more presentations about human trafficking.” 

Well, we are here to answer that call. 

Thank you for being on this journey with us. We are so grateful to have you with us as we work towards preventing human trafficking by addressing and supporting our youth. The impact of these donations will last generations. 

We are so grateful. 

In solidarity and strength, 

Danielle Warren
Development Manager
Aura Freedom International

Links:

• Visit our Human Trafficking Information Hub
• Keep up with the latest Aura Freedom News