Canadian Sex Trade Crisis Hotline

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Miriam Ibrahim reports for the Edmonton Journal, 3 Jan 2010:

 

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/National+trade+crisis+counselling+telephone+line+launches+Edmonton/4054355/story.html

1-866-528-7109

 

EDMONTON ? An Edmonton-based organization used the new year to launch a national crisis-counselling telephone line for victims of the sex trade and human trafficking.

 

The national hotline launched Jan. 1 and will be available to both men and women who have found themselves victims of sex and labour trafficking, either domestically or internationally.

 

?It?s important because trafficking creates a huge sense of isolation around them,? said Jacqueline Linder, executive director of The Chrysalis Network, a local non-profit group that provides support for victims of human and labour trafficking. ?They have no network, and these victims very rarely call a sexual-assault crisis line.?

 

Linder said the hotline was necessary because most victims, many dealing with the trauma of rape or systematic abuse, don?t have access to adequate psychological counselling.

 

?The trauma is incredibly devastating and takes a lot of time and effort to repair.?

 

While the line is currently staffed 18 hours a day, from 12 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time, Linder hopes to have it fully staffed and operating 24 hours a day by spring.

 

The professor at City University in Edmonton specializes in trauma psychology and does extensive work with victims of sex trafficking in the city. She recruited many of her masters students for the project.

 

Each of the counsellors on the other end of the line is a volunteer who has spent hours in training, Linder added, and will work an unchanging set of shifts each week. That way, a caller can call back at the same time every week and talk to the same person.

 

?That?s very important because we want these survivors to build a connection with somebody,? she said. ?Most crisis lines discourage frequent, repeat callers. We actually encourage it because we want the caller to know there is someone out there who knows them and knows their story.?

 

The line will be advertised broadly across the country, and will be given to police departments and community agencies who may find themselves in contact with a victim, she added.

 

?We?re aware that there will be victims who either haven?t got out of the situation yet or aren?t ready to,? Linder said. ?So we thought the best thing to do was to distribute the number as much as possible.?

 

The hotline number is 1-866-528-7109.