New tactics used by human traffickers

The team of Human Trafficking Education for Prevention — the anti-trafficking group active in the Diocese since 2023 — would like to share with you some of our recent activities and achievements, in the hope that you will continue to support our work with your prayers and, if possible, your collaboration.

Many of you will have received our leaflets and become aware of our website htep.ca, which includes a helpful collection of resources for use in schools, parishes, youth groups, and more. All the material we have prepared to date is available to download from the website’s Resource section at no cost.

A particularly useful resource is our study video, which explains different aspects of human trafficking in a way suitable for group use. We sent a letter containing the website link to each parish in the Diocese, as well as to every ordained deacon and all Catholic Separate School chaplains.

In June, before the end of the school year, we visited each of the First Nations reserves to meet with school authorities, community colleges, and Band Police (or RCMP detachments) to share our materials. We learned that human traffickers are now targeting the reserves in the same way they have been targeted for years by drug traffickers. This reality is described in the documentary Into the Light, produced by a team from the Kainai Nation (Blood Reserve near Lethbridge).

In September, we were invited to participate in an excellent event for school counsellors, sponsored by the Lethbridge Palliser School District in conjunction with Alberta Social Services. The Edmonton RCMP and police delivered a superb and thought-provoking presentation outlining the growing use of the internet for “grooming” and showing how easily young people can fall into traps set by “fake friends.”

We also learned that youth are now more likely to engage in “sexting” (sending compromising photos of themselves to friends), unaware that these photos can later be used by hackers to victimize or blackmail them. Using artificial intelligence, human traffickers can now produce and distribute pornographic material using a person’s body, gestures, and voice, often without the individual’s knowledge.

If you are interested in learning more or joining our team, please let us know by writing to [email protected].

Our next team meeting is on Monday, December 1st, 2025.