Acknowledgements
MCIS would like to gratefully acknowledge the funding support received from the Ministry of Attorney General (MAG)’s Ontario Victim Services (OVS) of the Province of Ontario. Our gratitude also extends to the OVS staff who have provided guidance and support throughout the project.
MAG’s Human Trafficking Advisory Committee has acted as the Project Advisory Committee for the Online Training Initiative to Address Human Trafficking. We would like to thank all members of the Committee and their organizations for supporting our project, and providing valuable input and guidance to ensure it responds to the realities faced by service providers who work with trafficked persons.
We are equally grateful to the subject matter experts who have thoroughly reviewed the training content and provided valuable suggestions for improvement: Timea Nagy – Founder of Walk With Me Canada Victim Services, Karlee Sapoznik – Alliance Against Modern Slavery and Marty Van Doren – former Human Trafficking Awareness Coordinator with the RCMP (retired).
We also thank our project partner – South Asian Women’s Centre, Toronto – for their support throughout the development of this training program.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all survivors of human trafficking who have contributed to the development of this training program by sharing their experiences and perspectives. They have chosen to remain anonymous to protect their safety and privacy, yet their contributions have been crucial in ensuring the training program incorporates the perspective of the people who have gone through the experience of being trafficked, have survived and are now working to ensure that others in similar situations receive appropriate protection and support.
We would also like to thank all the service providers who have provided their input based on their direct experience working with trafficked persons. Numerous individuals and organizations have provided their invaluable support by sharing information and resources and providing feedback: Sue Wilson – Coalition Assisting Trafficked Individuals, London, Michelle Batty – Sexual Assault Survivors’ Centre Sarnia-Lambton, Mark Benallick – Toronto Police Service, Shelley Tarnowski – Ontario Provincial Police, Kripa Sekhar – South Asian Women’s Centre, Lisa Pierce and Caroline Pugh-Roberts from the London Anti-Trafficking Committee, Helen Roos and Simone Bell – Roos-Remillard Consulting, Tara Leach, NP, SANE-A, Jolene Heida – PROS Program at All Saints Church Community Centre, Toronto, Ashley Nicholls – Women’s Support Network of York Region, Jennifer Richardson – StreetReach Winnipeg, Christine Schmidt – Project Peace, Sudbury, Jacqui Linder – Chrysalis Anti-Human Trafficking Network, Melanie Knights – Holistic Harm Reduction, Michele Anderson – Covenant House, Toronto, Major Karen Puddicombe – Salvation Army, Thunder Bay, Deepa Mattoo - South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario; Debbie Pond – Toronto Counter Human Trafficking Network; Liz Okai – Peel Children’s Aid Society; Chiefs of Ontario, The Office for Victims of Crime; the FCJ Refugee Centre. Many others have chosen to remain anonymous but their contributions have been no less important.
Special thanks to the Coalition Assisting Trafficked Individuals – London, St. Joe’s Women’s Centre – Ottawa, Oasis centre des femmes – Toronto and PROS – All Saints Church Community Centre, Toronto for assisting with organizing our focus groups.
This training program would not have been possible without the professionalism, passion and dedication of our wonderful team: MCIS staff, consultants and volunteers. And it would not have existed at all without the vision and leadership of Latha Sukumar, our Executive Director.