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39| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,N ovem ber 8,2018 theifp.ca JOHNNY CASH BILL CULP PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS THE LEGEND OF LORETTA LYNN STARRING THE AMAZING JIM YORFIDO TAMMY WYNETTE SPECIAL GUEST PAM YORFIDO JOHN ELLIOTT THEATRE 9 Church Street, Halton Hills 905-877-3700 HaltonHills.ca/Theatre SUN DEC 16 3pm SUN DEC 16 $39 All Inclusive! compliments and gifts. "That's how they get their hooks in," said Seta- ram. "That luring and grooming stage can take a day, can take a month, can take a year." They prey on individu- als who might share their problems on social media, making it easy for them to target their needs. The Romeo pimp will often of- fer a victim who is in an unstable life situation money, and the idea of a safe place to stay. "They sell them a dream," said Setaram. "They don't always deliv- er... often times that ex- ploitive piece comes right away." She says a lot of victims have trouble seeing how they are being exploited, because there is a per- ceived level of trust, and love established. "That's why Romeo pimps are so dangerous and it's so insidious be- cause it looks like love," she said. "They can't see that external disconnect." SAVIS operates through a model of femi- nist counselling, which provides clients the infor- mation they need to self- identify and make their own decisions to leave sex work when they are ready. For someone who is working in the industry on a daily basis, whose friends and life is entirely connected to the world, leaving can be extraordi- narily difficult. "That's what they know, that's what they find comfort in," said Setaram. "You're leaving a whole network of what's familiar. It can be very isolating, it can be very lonely." Halton Region is one stop along the 401 corridor where pimps commonly move their workers from hotel to hotel from Niaga- ra Falls to Ottawa. "It's easier just to con- tinue to move someone," said Setaram, noting that with Halton being a more affluent community, workers can make more, for less sessions in the ar- ea. Setaram says that she has clients who work in Acton and Georgetown as well. "From a trafficking perspective, some small towns are great. You come in, you go out, nobody no- tices," she said. People as- sume it's a big city prob- lem, it's not, It's a Canada problem." SAVIS works alongside with HRPS to make pre- sentations across Halton, spreading awareness about human trafficking and how to recognize the signs that someone is be- ing groomed. "It revolves around ed- ucation," said Ciardullo, who says the majority of the individuals they find involved in sex work are young. He says they have iden- tified victims from Milton, Acton and Georgetown, however the investiga- tions usually stem from more southern parts of the region along the 401 and QEW corridors. "It's happening here," he said. STORY BEHIND THE STORY Victims are often lured into human trafficking under the illusion of a romantic relationship, with some offenders starting at quite a young age. NEWS Continued from page 38 2013 Halton police investigated 1 occur- rence for sex traffick- ing, and made 1 arrest 2014 Halton Police investigated 2 occur- rences, and made 6 arrests 2015 Halton Police investigated 8 incidents and made 13 arrests 2016 Halton police investigated 4 and arrested 8 2017 Halton Police investigated 11 occurrences and made 10 arrests 2018 Halton police so far have investigat- ed 11 and made 9 arrests 1 1 2 6 8 13 4 8 11 10 11 9 THE ISSUE: CASES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN HALTON ARE ON THE RISE LOCAL IMPACT: SAVIS SUPPORT WORKER'S CURRENT CASELOAD INCLUDES A DOZEN INDIVIDUALS, MOST RELATED TO THE SEX TRADE Metroland graphic