There are estimated to be almost 50 million people being exploited globally through human trafficking and modern day slavery in 2021, including an estimated 69,000 in Canada, according to the Walk Free Global Slavery Index.1 The number is almost as hard to comprehend as the experiences that Victims and Survivors share. To better understand what human trafficking looks like – how it shows up right here in Alberta – a group of dedicated organizations have come together to share what they know. Over the past two years, members of the Provincial Human Trafficking Network have worked collaboratively to design a new approach. The Network brings together key provincial stakeholders, working in the area of human trafficking, to leverage expertise, resources, and advance leading collaborative practice. The data these organizations have shared has been curated in this data story.
The true scale of the problem remains hidden for many reasons that discourage Victims from reporting and make it challenging for police to identify and charge perpetrators. This data story brings light to the people and organizations that are working tirelessly to meet the complex needs of Survivors, to prevent others from becoming Victims, and to bring justice to those who exploit individuals for profit.
This data story is accompanied by an interactive data dashboard exploring police-reported incidents of human trafficking reported by Statistics Canada.
Acknowledgements
The Alberta Human Trafficking Data Portal Project is powered by #NotInMyCity.
Thank you to the individuals and organizations who are part of the Provincial Human Trafficking Network that participated in stakeholder interviews in 2022 and provided their honest insights into the current state of human trafficking data in Alberta and how the project can approach solution design.
Thank you to the Provincial Human Trafficking Network for their support.
This project was funded by a Civil Society Fund grant from the Ministry of Community and Social Services, Government of Alberta.
Thank you to the 6 frontline agencies who shared their data with us for this version of the data story.
Thank you to the Victims and Survivors who gave their feedback on the data story.
This prototype website and data story was built in collaboration between #NotInMyCity, PolicyWise for Children & Families, and Purpose Analytics.
Accessing the Data Story
Access to the data story is limited to staff and volunteers at organizations who are members of the Provincial Human Trafficking Network. Click the following link to see how to access the data story or navigate to the top menu and click Access the Data Story > How to Access.