Alexandra Stevenson never imagined that what she thought was a loving relationship would turn into abuse – or that she would end up a victim of human trafficking.
Stevenson, who lived in Oakville, Ontario. at the time, she recalls how her boyfriend suddenly used threats and violence to control her, at one point saying he had to sell his body to cover the cost of his drug habit.
“Suddenly, overnight, everything changed. He really became very cruel to me… there was no option to leave. And he told me very clearly that if I chose to leave, my life would be in danger,” she told CBC News.
Stevenson, 35, is among thousands of British Columbians who have been forced into sexual exploitation, with online apps and messaging services compounding the problem by providing more platforms for predators to seek out their targets.
Researchers now hope technology can help them fight back – by using artificial intelligence to identify those most at risk of being targeted.
Now based in Kamloops, British Columbia, Stevenson says it took her years to realize she was a victim of trafficking and would like to see more emphasis on educating young people about it.
Control through drug addiction
Stevenson was about 13 years old when she was first sexually abused by her best friend’s uncle, she says. The abuse continued for years.
By the age of 20, she was using hard drugs to mask the trauma of the abuse. That’s when she met her friend, who was dealing drugs full-time, she says.
When she tried to break up with him after he started threatening her with violence, he showed her a news article about a woman who had been hurt “graphically” and said that the last girl who broke up with him had been through something similarly.
“That’s when his control over me started,” Stevenson said.
She says she felt responsible to help cover the cost of her drug habit and her boyfriend used that to control her.
“He said, ‘You know, we really need to supplement our income…I’m not making any money. You make too many of the drugs I have to sell. It’s your fault. I need your help,'” she recalled.
Then he became physically abusive, she says.
She described an incident at a strip club where he dragged her on stage and struck a deal with the club owner, saying she couldn’t leave until she “paid a deposit with [her] body.”
“Canada’s Best Concealed Crime”
Human trafficking is a “huge problem” in British Columbia, one that is “not talked about very often,” said Brenda Lochhead, a social worker in Vancouver.
Victims range from high school students to youth living on the streets, she says.
“We have an over-representation of Aboriginal youth who are victims. Many young people are attracted and lured into this, becoming victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking.”
Experts say most of this luring happens online.
“Grooming happens online, people are bought and sold online, so it’s very virtual and hard to detect,” said Tiana Sharifi, founder of Sexual Exploitation Training and co-author of a new study from Simon Fraser University’s International Cybercrime Research Center , which includes the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
She describes human trafficking as “Canada’s best-hidden crime” because it involves coercion.
“That’s why this research is so important, so we can develop technology that can tag these things in real time,” she said.
Tiana Sharifi, founder of Sexual Exploitation Education, co-authored a new study with Simon Fraser University’s International Cybercrime Research Center looking at new ways to detect human trafficking online using artificial intelligence. (CBC News)
The study uses algorithms to identify people the researchers believe are potential victims of human trafficking.
The AI ”web crawlers” looked for certain red flags — including phrases like “available 24-7,” signs of control, or emoticons like cherries, growing hearts or airplanes — commonly used in traffic situations.
The researchers concluded that of about 6,000 sex work ads they scanned in British Columbia, roughly 40 percent were “indicative of human trafficking.”
The study was supported by the Ministry of Public Safety and Law Enforcement.
“Our energy should go into prevention”
Stevenson says he thinks the problem is growing in British Columbia because of isolation during the pandemic.
“Now you can reach up to 5,000 victims at once with a quick hey and just see who responds. You don’t have to expose yourself as a potential predator by lurking around a mall, school, or anything else. you can do it from the safety of your home,” she said.
Stevenson was not involved in the research, but says she welcomes the study, adding that the ability to identify victims online can help with the essential work of protecting and caring for people who are trafficked.
But she insists prevention is key.
Alexandra Stevenson has been filmed speaking at a conference through her platform The Laughing Survivor where she advocates for victims of human trafficking. (Submitted by Alexandra Stevenson)
“At the end of the day, survivorship exists because it has failed… Our focus, our funding and our energy must go to prevention.”
Lochhead said the study offers tools that could be useful when it comes to prosecuting human trafficking cases, but questions whether or not it will help victims.
“They may not want to come forward. They may not even identify that they are at risk. And you have to meet the victims where they are,” Lochhead said.
Stevenson says a car accident in 2007 gave her the break she needed to finally get away from her boyfriend.
She eventually went to post-secondary school and has since dedicated her career to advocating for victims and survivors of human trafficking through her platform The Laughing Survivor, sharing her story at conferences and in schools.
“Sharing the story is what gave me back my power over it,” she said.
“It stopped being his story of how he controlled me — and became my story of finding freedom.”
Add Comment