Sex trafficking of Indian international girl students spreading from Brampton to Toronto

Canada: Indian international students in the Greater Toranto Area (GTA) are increasingly falling prey to pimps and drug dealers. And the worst part is that they are being exploited mostly by people from their own Indo-Canadian community.

According to a special report by Canadianbazar.com, The arrest of three Indo-Canadian young men from Brampton in August for trafficking an 18-year-old girl in sex trade is just the tip of the fast spreading sex trafficking of Indian girl students in the GTA.cIn this particular case, the Indian-origin girl was held captive by the three men and being passed around in sex trade.

There could be more victims of these men since they were advertising sexual services online.

Indo-Canadian social activists at the forefront of the fight against human trafficking admit that sexual exploitation of girl students from India is increasing in the GTA and beyond.

There are also reports of an uptick in the number of girl students seeking termination of pregnancies.

“A nurse acquaintance of our family says she performs 10-12 abortions involving Indian students each month. She says she never saw anything like before,” says an elderly Indo-Canadian resident of Brampton.

Sadly, it’s also a known fact that many students are willingly entering sex trade to pay their expenses.

“Part of the problem is that most of these girls are away from their families for the first time in their life and they feel free. Since they stay together, one bad apple can spoil others. This is happening,” says a Mississauga-based Indo-Canadian professional who advises international students on financial matters.

Ms. Sunder Singh, who as executive director of Toronto-based Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women is in the forefront of the fight against women’s exploitation, says, “The increasing sexual exploitation of girl students, particularly from India, is a new area of concern for us. We have come to realize that this problem runs much deeper than people know.”

At the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women, Ms. Singh says, she and her staff actively track cases of women exploited by human traffickers and help them restart a new life.