Methods

This report is based on twenty-two (22) semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted in 2022 with current and historical clients of Voice Found, as well as two (2) anti-human trafficking professionals with lived experience of trafficking. The research questions were developed by Voice Found’s Director of Anti-Human Trafficking, the organization’s principal investigator for this research.

This protocol was reviewed by the Research Review Committee at Justice Canada’s Research and Statistics Division. After that review, the researchers at Voice Found and representatives of Justice Canada met with Dr. Lorraine Ferris (Ferris Consulting) to discuss ethical considerations for the study. Dr. Ferris has extensive experience in the conduct of research, such as research integrity, ethics and responsible publishing, and regularly gives seminars on these topics. Dr. Ferris reviewed the project proposal, interview guide, ethics protocol and the participant consent form and provided input on ethical considerations for this study. These two processes provided additional measures to ensure the well-being of research participants.

Trauma-Informed Approach

The Director of Anti-Human Trafficking, who provides primary and ongoing support as Voice Found’s anti-human trafficking case manager and lived experience peer supporter, chose participants based on readiness, willingness, and ability to discuss details of their trafficking history. The Director used discretion and knowledge of the client base to carefully select participants, such as whether a client is in active addiction, has recently experienced a crisis (whether personal or trafficking related), has been open and willing to discuss their experiences in the past, and whether they are able to maintain a healthy distance between themselves and their experiences so as to not experience re-traumatization. The Director of Anti-Human Trafficking also provided as many accommodations as possible to ensure the safety and stability of these clients throughout this process. For example, there was flexibility in the time of the interview, the means to conduct the interview (whether in-person, over the phone, or via conference call), location of an in-person meeting, and duration of the interview, sometimes breaking the interview process over more than one session to ensure mental and emotional safety. It should be noted that some clients who were invited to participate in this research declined to do so.

Interviewees were invited to participate as subject matter experts and were provided an honorarium for their participation. Any identifying information in the data collected during the interviews has been removed to respect the privacy of clients.

Research Questions

Nine (9) research questions were proposed by the Research and Statistics Division and adapted to the lived experience of survivors of human trafficking to ensure the correct data was being collected (Annex A). The questions include demographic data and correspond with the survivor’s timeline from beginning trafficking, during and exiting trafficking, and after exiting trafficking. Also included is a section where survivors were given the opportunity to share additional insights directly to Justice Canada (full testimonies can be found in Annex B).