Delve Into Invisible Chains: Canadas Underground World Of Human Trafficking Designed By Benjamin Perrin Accessible As Paperbound
book is pretty dry, The subject matter is super serious so I understand why it's dry but it's worth noting as this is a book and that matters.
Benjamin did something pretty incredible by investigating and creating a powerful asset to be used to force legislators to move.
With that, it feels like a lawmaker in Ottawa is more the target audience than I,
Okay enough about the tone, it's a lot of facts and snippets of anecdote that pieces together a reality that many ignore.
Granted this book is inand some of the stuff has improved, I really like the action plan stuff at the end.
Gives you a real something to do after reading it,
Worth reading for the knowledge, Many very good books have been written on human trafficking in the last few years, I would highly recommend those written by Richard Poulin, Victor Malarak, Somaly Mam, Isabel Vincent, Melissa Farley.
The one I want to comment though is INVISIBLE CHAINS, by Benjamin Perrin,
It happens often that one takes a decision in life and is led to a path that was not clearly defined at first.
It seems to me that such was the case for Mr, Perrin. While talking with his university friends, he became aware of human trafficking, He and his friends decided to study seriously the issues of this terrible way of making money, founded The Future Group, and before going into a business career, headed for Cambodia and got involved with the people in that country.
Benjamin Perrins book is not easy to read, You will be moved to tears, it will break your heart, you will even get very angry while you read about Thérèse, Manuela, Luisa, Natalie, Crystal, Jessie, Eve and many others.
But compassion is not enough unless you cross the road, Perrin did it when he worked in Cambodia, and would not quit when returning home, He had learnt that the traffickers in Cambodia were from North America, Western Europe and Australia, He had learnt that trafficking is a national and international issue and that Canada has a responsibility in this human tragedy.
Perrin was determined to prove it, I believe that it is with this intention that upon returning to Canada, he did extensive research about what was going on in his own country.
Knowledge is a powerful and needed instrument,
With him, we travel across Canada and the roads lead us to other disturbing facts, We learn about the difficulties in trying to act against trafficking, the barriers one encounter, the forces at work everywhere.
We learn more disturbing stories, Real people, young, innocent, afraid and alone, We are reminded of the vulnerable situation of the First Nations as prime easy preys to being trafficked.
We learn about laws, about the Canadian Civil Code, about the Palermo Protocol, As Perrin writes, laws are not enough to bring changes but they do define the values of a nation and in the long run, they can make a difference.
We are introduced to the traffickers methods, the huge amount of money this “industry” brings, We also learn about the efforts made by different groups, the good initiatives of the NGOs, the operations deployed by the police force to save the victims and to prevent trafficking.
The work done never seems enough but Perrin dos not leave his readers in despair, In fact, I wonder if the National Plan to fight trafficking that the Canadian parliament just launched is not a result, at a certain level, of his thorough research and of other books and projects.
How can facts be denied and overlooked forever No, Perrin does not leave us helpless and hopeless.
This book is a book of action,
Sister Pierrette Boissé, CND
Readers beware: you will be fuming with anger while reading this.
“Invisible Chains” takes a hard look into the world of human trafficking both internationally and here in our own backyard Canada.
One thing I know for sure is that humans make me sick!
More surprising than human trafficking in Canada is our governments lack of action in preventing it.
Perrin does a great job of uncovering Canadas failures and offers ample suggestions for improvement, Seeing as this book isyearsold, Id be curious to know how much has changed since then.
I hope a lot!
I loved that this novel specifically touches on the disproportionately high victimization rates of our indigenous population I will always vouch for a book that brings more awareness to this issue! I was also very interesting in the discussion of whether legalizing prostitution can in any way help to reduce human trafficking spoiler alert, it does not.
This is something that Ive always questioned, and is something that I have always had mixed feelings about.
This book unpacks a lot, but it is so so important! In
addition to being a great conversation piece, this book offers suggestions for readers to get involved and help spread awareness.
Invisible Chains describes, in detail, the Canadian side of human trafficking of all manner of frightened and disandvantaged human beings many of whom thought they were coming to a better life.
I appreciated the index at the back of the book to volunteer associations in every Canadian province.
All I have to say is wow, this book is eye opening, I would like to start off by saying I am not a fan of non fiction so take my opponion with a grain of salt.
This book was very eye opening about the lack of laws in Canada regarding human trafficking although it was written at least nine years ago so I'm hoping that has changed.
I found it to be super repetitive to the point where I was quite bored quite often, but I don't know if that is common for the genre or if this book was particularly bad.
I have read a lot of dark fiction involving human trafficking so none of the victims stories were surprising to me, but definitely reinforced how very real these cases are.
I feel like society as a whole has a very narrow minded view of women in these situations and tends to look down there nose at them or ignore the issue and I feel like this book could be combative in changing that.
I do hope Canada has implemented some of the changes suggested in this book so human trafficking can cease to exist in our country as well as all others.
Great read. Lots of information. Very well written. What an eyeopening book about human trafficking in Canada and Canada's influence in human trafficking abroad, A comprehensive book that starts with a glimpse of human trafficking and the sex trade abroad and then continues to outline Canadian laws and policies or lack thereof regarding the internet, human trafficking within our own boarders, prosecuting human traffickers, and treatment of victims.
Some of the most shocking details included the following:
States like New York have policies that allow sex offenders to be kicked off of social networking sites like Facebook, but Canada has no similar laws page
The provincial governments' but mainly I'm speaking from an Ontario perspective and federal government's failures to really address human trafficking issues in this country is absolutely unacceptable.
For example, on page, Perrin says the following: "In November, the issue of human trafficking finally made its way to Queen's Park when an Opposition member ask the government to explain why, unlike several other provinces, Ontario lacked a program tailored to the needs to trafficking victims.
Rick Bartolucci, Ontario's minister of community safety and correctional services, dodged the question, bizarrely accusing the Opposition of failing to support provincial and municipal police.
Later the minister reportedly told the media that human trafficking raises a lot of complex 'federal issues,' adding, 'They're immigration.
'" Perri later goes on to say, "At a meeting with Premier Dalton McGuinty in February, after having set out this serious problem, I called on him to do the right thing and implement a system in Ontario to help victims of human trafficking.
As this book goes to print, the provincial government has made no announcement, " Page
Human trafficking did not become a Canadian Criminal Code offense untilPage.
While human trafficking is a huge problem in Canada affecting hundreds if not thousands of victims and their families, onlypeople had been convicted thoughcharged of human trafficking.
Not only that, but the sentences for thesepeople are laughable as most of them received "twoforone" sentencing, meaning that the time spent in custody before the trial was counted.
This meant that some sentencing periods were as lenient as a couple of days or weeks to only a couple of years for terrorizing lives.
Many victims are treated with little dignity and justice, Some are kept in detention facilities since there is not a comprehensive system to deal with victims of sex trafficking.
The training the many police services and immigration officials receive is not adequate for dealing with the human/sex trafficking psychological and social complexities they encounter.
Countries like the United States, Belgium and Italy have policies that help victims rather than traumatize them even more.
For instance, human trafficking victims in the United States are eligible for the Witness Protection Program, Perrin says, "President Bill Clinton signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of TVPA into law just six weeks before the United States committed to the Palermo Protocol.
Moreover, the TVPA has been reviewed and updated in,, andin response to ongoing monitoring of results and increased understanding of the program.
. . By comparison Canada, which signed the Palermo Protocol one day after the United States, has yet to enact any federal legislation remotely as comprehensive as the TVPA.
" Page
I am very passionate about human trafficking issues in Canada, and I really appreciate that such a comprehensive book has been written about Canada's specific challenges with this devastating issue.
I challenge those who are equally moved by this book to find ways to make a difference volunteer with an organization that helps advocate for or assist human trafficking victims or write your MP or MPP challenging them to change the system.
Our government's response or lack thereof to this growing problem is unacceptable and embarrassing, Canada should be showing the global community that we are actively fighting again human trafficking and are working to bring justice for the victims.
Hard hitting book about human trafficking in Canada, Made me more aware of the horrible truth, Gripping stories. I think the book could have been shorter seemed like a lot of repetition, but maybe that's what it takes to get people to pay attention.
This book was an enlightening and startling exposé of human trafficking of persons for the sex trade and for labour.
Perrin shares numerous stories and facts to demonstrate that the problem is pervasive here in Canada, the "true north stong and free", but that our failure to adequately address the problem and to support its victims serves to perpetuate modern day slavery both here and abroad.
I found the book to be a thorough and well written overview as well as a call to action with numerous, specific suggestions for government, NGOs, private sector organizations, parents and all Canadian citizens.
Readers may also be interested in Somaly Mam's book sitelinkThe Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine and afeature movie called "Trade of Innocents", written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Chrisopher Bissette.
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