Month: August 2020

Victims of Sex Trafficking in the Americas: Overview of Public Strategies and Future Directions, 2000-2019

It is with honor and enthusiasm that we present this thematic report on victims of sex trafficking in America. This publication aims to provide an overview of public strategies and to establish certain recommendations in light of research and proven findings.

The period 2000-2019 has been a crucial period in the fight against trafficking for sexual exploitation. Indeed, it saw the emergence of a series of legislative and organizational measures specific to this crime. From the Palermo Protocol, the first international legal foundation signed in 2000, to the various national strategies adopted subsequently, this thematic report allows us to understand how the issue of trafficking has been addressed by seven countries in the Americas, including Canada. Nearly 20 years later, time has come to realize that efforts still need to be made to contain this global phenomenon.

The originality of this report is based on the inclusion of a new criterion from the national anti-trafficking strategy: empowerment. This criterion places the victim at the center of our concerns. To be able to accompany him/her in the judicial process, to ensure his/her safety and well-being, whether the victim is a citizen or a migrant, is essential.

Download the report available in French

Redefine, Reinvent, Redirect. Looking at contemporary police challenges in the light of today’s social movement.

Police reforms arise in different contexts. They might be triggered by increasing levels of crime and violence. Sometimes, they can stem from a wider reforming project, such as attempts to modernize the State, or efforts to democratize the security sector in post-conflict and transitional societies. In other cases, they are related to particular events, to research results or to investigations – by the media, the judiciary, parliament, or the police itself – that highlight problematic aspects of the police and of policing that need to be dealt with.

The recent killing of George Floyd by a US police officer in Minneapolis and a series of high-profile cases involving the use of disproportionate and even lethal force by police against racialized minorities are once again putting law-enforcement institutions under the spotlight. That is why calls to reform the police are rising again, not only in the United States, but elsewhere too: in Canada, in Quebec, in Australia, in New Zealand, in South Africa, in Kenya, in St. Petersburg, in Barbados, in France, and in the United Kingdom. This time, these demands are rallying behind a new slogan: “Defund the police”. What does it mean? Where does it come from? What is new about this idea? What does it entail? How is it different from previous calls to reform or to abolish the police? In this policy brief, we want to look at some of the main demands of today’s movement and to contribute to the discourse by clarifying concepts and ideas that can sometimes be confusing.

Download the policy brief.