I was sex trafficked for years. Brothels are hidden in plain sight

Sex trafficking may be happening behind the walls of businesses you pass daily - including the some of the massage parlours and holistic centres in your community. Casandra Diamond shares a harrowing story of her experience inside these modern day brothels: in this raw and honest talk, learn about the systemic issues that enable businesses to operate in plain sight and how you can help to advocate for change. Casandra is the founding director of BridgeNorth, a survivor-led charitable organization that provides programs to assist victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Her work includes investing in public education, awareness, and advocacy at all levels of government including supporting Bill C-36 which is now law as the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

You noticed I'm holding q-cards.

I'm holding q-cards

because they are going to help me
focus on my message

while at the same time,
shielding me from painful memories,

and intrusive thoughs.

Because my story
isn't an easy one to tell.

In fact, every time I tell my story,

I'm re-traumatized.

But if sharing my story means

that one more girl
has a chance of freedom,

then it's worth it for me.

Growing up in my family wasn't easy.

Mental health problems and abuse

can destabilize a family.

But abuse doesn't just exist in a vacuum.

It doesn't just start or stop
in one idividual's life,

it permiates every action
and activity of their being.

Mental health problems
and abuse led to neglect.

And neglect left me
on the streets of Scarborough,

a very young girl.

I distinctly recall going back to school.

Remember, each year
the teacher would ask us.

"Write down what you did last summer."

I was so ashamed, I was paralyzed.

I didn't go to summer camp.

No, I didn't go to the cottage.

I was the kid
that played outside all day long.

There was no regular structure.

There was no routine for most anything.

One summer, I was raped by a stranger,

and other, abuse integrated
by the neigborhood boys.

I was always in fight or flight mode.

It seemed like danger
was lurking around every corner.

What I learned that summer

was how to remain hypervigilant,
how to avoid attack,

something that no young girl
should ever have to learn.

But it didn't stop
with the neighborhood boys.

I would later be abused at the hands
of a multi generational pedofile.

And it was his words that kept me trapped.

When he said,

"your parents won't love you anymore
if you tell on me."

In my isolated environment,
I believed him.

And my behaivors started to reflect
the environment that I lived in.

I don't remember a time back then

when my body ever felt like my own.

At 17, I started moving from club to club.

I first started stripping.

Then later, I worked for a smut magazine

where I would meet

some of the most dangereous people
I've ever encountered.

Still, I was on this never ending quest

to have some form of agency
over my own body,

a source of power I had never had before.

One day, my phone rang,

I was looking at my gas gauge
sitting on empty.

It was my old co-worker
from the magazine company.

He called me to tell me that

he was running Toronto's
largest massage parlour,

and he wanted me to come
and join his stable.

The word "stable"
didn't even give me pause.

Well, on the outside
it looked like a normal bussines

except it wasn't.

This massage parlour had ten rooms,
and they were always busy.

There were between forty to sixty
women and girls on rotation in the spa.

A massage was between 40 and 50 dollars.

We'd get a 10 dollar commission,

if you didn't have a fine.

And you could have a fine
for just about anything,

being late, talking back
or not having a perfectly primmed body.

It was expected that the girls
could earn considerably more money

by doing extras.

And by doing extras,

I am talking about some of the
most unimaginable and degrading acts.

Police raids?
They occured in these places,

but no police officer, no by law official
ever offered me help.

No one ever said "Hey, is there
somewhere else you'd rather be?"

or "I know somebody you can call.

Can I connect you two?"

And this would be my life
for the next nearly nine yaers.

Maybe you're listening to my story

and you're thinking
"How foolish is this girl!"

But I wasn't foolish.

I was vulnerable,

I was naive,

and I was a perfect target.

I didn't have a sense of belonging.

I didn't feel wanted or valued
for anything other than my body.

I had started to deceive myself,

"This is my choice.
I'm making this money."

But in hindsight,

there wasn't my choice involved at all.

This wasn't work, it was trafficking.

I was told how to dress,
who to have sex with

where to live, everything.

I felt scared almost all the time.

The man who recruited me,

he manipulated me into thinking
and believing that he was my protector,

my boyfriend, except he wasn't.

He was my trafficker and I was
little more than his property.

Over time, he made me a manager.

Made me. This was not an act of saving me.

This was not a promotion.

This was him trying to build his status
and grow his power.

On paper, he ran a licenced
body rub parlour.

This allowed him to look like a
legitimate bussinesman.

This licence allows you to rub,
need or stimulate

any muscle in the human body.

Officially, these words don't mean
that sex is on the menu.

But in my experience, and that of
thousands of others suggest differently.

Somewhere between the letter of the law,

the predatory practises of
massage parlour owners and operators,

the willingness for police
to look the other way,

our city has created
the licenced brothel system.

A massage parlour keeps the schedule,

manages all of the advertising,

and fields all of the calls,

freeing up a trafficker
to look for another victim.

Buyers! They don't have to
go to a seedy motel.

Massage parlours and holistic centres,

the ones on the way to and from
your home and work.

They provide a facada

of acceptability and option
on a woman's part.

But even worse, the fact that
all of this happens

inside of a licenced system means

that we are enshrining a man's right
to buy a living breathing human being.

That's what we're talking about.

This is what sex trafficking
looks like in Canada.

It is the brothel hidden in plain sight

where women are trapped
and many enslaved.

And here all of us,

all of us are deceived into believing

that what's hapening is a woman's choice.

You see, our cities licence these parlours

and holistic centres.

And in their point of view,

they're not officially granting
a licence for a brothel

but they are well aware of
what's happening behind closed doors.

Not all massage centres are like this.

No, legitimate owners,
they're not open until 4:00 am.

They don't advertise their staff
in scantily clad clothing

on escort websites.

So, how these types of massage parlours,
how are they able to thrive?

Here in Canada, each municipality

has the power and control
to grant the licences for their area.

The higher levels of government,
they know these problems exist,

yet they take no responsibility

by saying that
they don't make the decisions,

the municipalities do.

Even one of our more celebrated
and successful politicians

was found inside a massage parlour
with no negative impacts to his career.

It's as if we're saying
"We're ok with this."

But I refuse to believe that,
I just simply don't.

I was in a meeting with the most
high senior officials

from the municipal licencing.

I specifically asked,

I said "You guys know that
it isn't just massage, right?"

Their response "Yeah, we know that
these are just fronts for brothels."

Everyone knows about this problem,

yet no one is taking the lead to solve it.

I eventually escaped
to my circumstanes.

I literally slept for three days straight.

It was my soul that hurt
for where there was no hospital.

Discovering my faih
in a supportive community

guided me to seek counselling
where my journey to recovery began.

Because you see, getting out is one thing

but staying out, that's just as hard.

With this understanding,
I started BridgeNorth.

I want to be a part of the solution.

I want to help end
sex trafficking in Canada.

We offer services to women.

They'll contact us for peer mentorship
and support,

medical care, food assistances,
many other services as well.

We also provide ..

I'm sorry, we also provide
a public education,

and we advocate to change our laws

because this problem is still
so hidden in plain sight.

There really are more victims out there
than you think there are.

Some enters this
dangereous world like I had,

others, chidren and youth,

they're lured at a foster care,
group homes, shelters,

from their own families.

The common thread is the traffickers

look to exploit the vulnerabilities
of their victim,

common thread all the time.

Where I was trafficked, there were
up to sixty women working.

The massage parlour I was at
made under just two million a year.

That doesn't include any of the money

made in the rooms by the girls,

that's what we know
is the trafficker's cut.

It doesn't include any money made by
going to after hours parties

or by other things like
selling drugs or weapons.

Imagine for a second that's just one,

imagine thousands of
these places across Canada.

Well, as a survivor I believe
we have to tackle the systemic problems

that foster trafficking
in the first place.

That's why in 2014, I spoke out
against sexual explotation

before the Justice
and Human Rights Comittee.

I hoped to lobby for the
passing of a bill called

"Prtotection of Communities
and Exploited Persons Act"

We advocated for Canada to adopt
the leading practices from Sweden.

This Nordic model, it penalizes the buyer

while helping women to exit.

This bill was passed and is now law,

yet still, we are not seeing
very much action at all.

We're not seeing arrests of buyers,

we're not seeing adequate funding
for services

that women need to heal and recover.

So, here now we have this legal framework

but we don't have it in use.

From Canada who is normally
such a leader on so many fronts,

a country that is known
for women's empowerment

and for gender equality.

Yet stil we need action
to match our intention.

So, where do we start?

Well, first we need to abolish
sex trafficking.

Its harms are inherent,

and simply cannot be licenced
or legislated in a better way.

Second, women trapped should be
given support to help them exit.

These women, they need to have be safe

from the repercussions of bad actors.

And finally, we need more support
from people like you, just like you.

I have spoken to numerous federal
and municipal government officials,

and they all say the same thing to me

"I can only address what my
constituents bring to my attention."

Write them,

call them,

tell them

that women being exploited,

and trafficked inside of massage parlours

is not acceptable.

In conclusion,

it takes just one person, it really does.

I share my story today because I'm free,

and that freedom,
I cannot take for granted.

I believe everybody in our country
should have that same rate.

I'm sharing ny story today

because I am hopeful.

I have seen, I have witnessed

the strength inside of the women
we're talking about.

These women are future leaders,

entrepreneurs, moms,
they are game changers.

All they need is a chance
just like the one I had.

It took one person.

Her name was Kathy,

her husband Jim.

They each extended a hand of love to me.

They both had shown me again

what humanity was all about,

and assisted to bring back my self -worth,

and that is something you can do
for someone else too.

(Applause and cheer)