A conference in North Bay heard from a survivor of human trafficking on Tuesday.

Karly Church is now a crisis intervention counsellor with Victim Services in the Durham Region.

She says human trafficking in reality is a lot different than the way it’s portrayed in the movies and on television where someone is kidnapped and taken.

She says you can be born and raised here and then be trafficked.

“People are lured into the sex trade with the promise of a future or the promise of being taken care of by somebody. Somebody looks at someone’s vulnerabilities and the needs that are not being met and begins to meet those needs,” she says.

Church says nearly two thirds of all human trafficking cases in Canada are in Ontario and communities near highways like North Bay are especially vulnerable.

She made her comments at the Faith Speaks Out event.

It’s a collaboration of community organizations, faith Leaders and the OPP within the District of Nipissing.

(photos by station staff)

Filed under: human trafficking, Karly Church