The Rotary Action Group Against Slavery in Canada is looking for ambassadors from each of Canada’s more than 700 Rotary clubs to champion the elimination of human trafficking in the country.
The national group is part of the international Rotary Action Group Against Slavery, which includes members from dozens of countries.
Rotary is a respected voice in Canada, says Barbara Lustgarten-Evoy, and bringing Rotary members from all over the country together to advocate on this issue things are done,” says Lustgarten-Evoy, a member of the Rotary E-Club of District 7080 and the Canadian coordinator for the human trafficking eradication project. To that end, the action group must “connect Rotarians to one another and to the people doing the work around the country. That’s how we get heard, and that’s how we make the change we need to make.” ......
An interactive map, which is scheduled to go live on the action group’s website after this issue’s publication date, will link Rotary members with vetted potential partners. The District 7080 e-club, the f irst antislavery cause-based e-club in the country, is working in alignment with the national action group.
In 2022, the Canadian government recorded about 530 instances of human trafficking reported to police, and a nationwide organization that operates an anti-trafficking hotline tallied about 2,200 victims and survivors between 2019 and 2022. Because experts believe that trafficking is underreported, particularly among historically marginalized groups, these figures do not capture the full extent of the problem. The Canadian action group is working with Honouring Indigenous People and has a trafficking survivor on its board to help ensure that its work is inclusive and considers survivors’ perspectives, Lustgarten-Evoy says.
Supporters of the cause are encouraged to attend this year’s Rotary International Convention in Calgary. “We want as many people representing RAGAS as possible so we can show the rest of the globe what Canada can do,” Lustgarten-Evoy says