A Shared Responsibility: Combating Child Sex Trafficking and Online Child Sexual Exploitation – Faculty of Community Services News and Events

Years ago, a teenage Casandra Diamond became a victim of child sex trafficking in suburban Scarborough. Her experience is far from unique. Right now, hundreds of thousands of children around the world are trapped in – or targeted by – sexual abuse and exploitation.

It took nine years before Diamond was able to escape and rebuild her life. Today, she is a nationally recognized leader in the fight against human trafficking. She was among a cross-sector, multidisciplinary group of participants at a TMU symposium in June on child sex trafficking and online child sexual exploitation.

These two crimes are different, but are now increasingly intertwined. They are borderless, extend across different geographical areas and occur at every socio-economic level.

The fight against them is complex and goes much further than just catching perpetrators. While many key stakeholders in various areas are committed to protecting children, current efforts are often fragmented and focused on very sector-specific facets.

Symposium participants recognized the limitations of isolated responses and agreed on the only hope for a solution: coordinating a holistic, transdisciplinary approach to prevent, respond and protect.

The two-day event facilitated this collaborative path forward. It was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and led by Dr. Jennifer Martin, professor of child and youth care at TMU and an international expert in the field of child sex trafficking and online sexual exploitation of children.

The symposium is one of three initiatives from the Faculty of Community Services at TMU that focus on child sex trafficking and online child sexual exploitation. Two others are an upcoming master’s degree program in health sciences and a new executive program starting in January 2025 for organizational leaders. .