At the Mary Ward Centre, we wanted to create a strategy to inform, raise awareness, educate, and prevent human trafficking and labour exploitation, with a focus on Spanish speakers in Canada migrating from Latin America to North America and Spain. Migrants use legal or illegal pathways to travel and arrive in these countries. According to the most recent data from the Government of Canada, 72% of people without permanent resident status originate from Latin America (665,892); and 70% of the temporary migrant workers in farms in Canada are from Latin America (49,428).
The International Organization for Migration stated that in 2020, 16.2 million migrants from Central America, including from Mexico, crossed borders into North America. 49% of these migrants were women. In 2022, "250,000 migrants crossed the Darién Gap, one of the most dangerous routes in the world, [...] with more than 80,000 persons crossing in the first three months of 2023". The International Commission on Missing Persons stated that 9,283 people were reported as disappeared between 2014 and 2023 because of crossing land borders from South America to North America.
These stark realities motivated us to create the radio broadcast "No hay trato con la trata", which informs and raises awareness about the risks of illegal migration, of smugglers and human trafficking. This program is a collaboration between The Mary Ward Centre, CHHA 1610am Radio Latina in Toronto, and radio stations across Latin America.
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