I was sex trafficked for years; brothels are hidden in plain sight | Casandra Diamond | TEDx Toronto

Sex trafficking may be happening behind the walls of businesses you pass daily - including 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 might] notice I'm holding cue cards.

I'm holding cue cards

because they are going to help me
to focus on my message

while at the same time

shielding me from painful memories
and intrusive thoughts.

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

In fact, every time I tell my story,

I'm retraumatized.

But if sharing my story

means that one more girl
has a chance at 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 individual's life.

It permeates 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.

I remember each year,
the teacher would ask us,

"Write down what you did that 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;

another, abused and degraded
by the neighborhood 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 pedophile.

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 behaviors 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 dangerous 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 he was running
Toronto's largest massage parlor,

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 business,

except it wasn't.

This massage parlor had 10 rooms,
and they were always busy.

There were between 40 to 60
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 primped 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 occurred in these places,

but no police officer, no bylaw 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 years.

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 much 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 licensed body rub parlor.

This allowed him to look
like a legitimate businessman.

This license

allows you to rub, knead or stimulate
any muscle in the human body.

Officially,

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

but my experience
and that of thousands of others

suggest differently.

Somewhere between the letter of the law,

the predatory practices
of massage parlor owners and operators,

the willingness for police
to look the other way,

our city has created
the licensed brothel system.

A massage parlor 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 parlors and holistic centers,

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

they provide a facade

of acceptability,

safety and option

on a woman's part.

But even worse,

the fact that all of this
happens inside of a licensed 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 happening is a woman's choice.

You see, our cities license
these parlors and holistic centers.

And in their point of view,

they're not officially granting
a license for a brothel,

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

Not all massage centers 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 are these types of massage parlors,

how are they able to thrive?

Here in Canada, each municipality

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

The higher levels of government,
they know that 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 parlor,
with no negative impacts to his career.

It's as if we're saying,
"We're okay 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 Municipal Licensing.

I specifically asked.

I said, "You guys know
that this 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 my circumstances.

I literally slept for three days straight.

It was my soul that hurt,

for where there was no hospital.

Discovering my faith
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
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 enter this
dangerous world like I had;

others, children and youth,

they're lured out of foster care,
group homes, shelters,

or from their own families.

The common thread

is that traffickers look to exploit
the vulnerabilities of their victim -

common thread, all the time.

Where I was trafficked,
there were up to 60 women working.

The massage parlor 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
as 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 exploitation

before the Justice
and Human Rights Committee.

I helped to lobby
for the passing of a bill,

called "Protection of Communities
and Exploited Persons Act."

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

This Nordic model,

it penalizes the buyers

while helping women to exit.

This bill was passed and is now law,

yet still, we're 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 and 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's known
for women's empowerment

and for gender equality,

yet still, 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 licensed
or legislated in a better way.

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

These women, they need to 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 parlors

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 right.

I'm sharing my 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 they assisted
to bring back my self-worth.

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

(Applause) (Cheers)

Thank you.

(Applause) (Cheers)