In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), pimps (sex traffickers) are preying upon international girl students at educational campuses, street corners, bus stops, workplaces and even religious places.
It is also a fact that some girl students are entering the sex trade willingly to pay their expenses.
It is estimated that a pimp can make over $200,000 yearly from a single girl, says Ms. Sunder Singh whose Toronto-based Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women is helping the victims stop their exploitation and get trained in high-paying skills.
The Canadian Bazaar
TORONTO: Indian international students in the GTA are increasingly falling prey to pimps and drug dealers. And the worst part is that they are being exploited mostly by people from their own Indo-Canadian community.
The arrest of three Indo-Canadian young men from Brampton in August for trafficking an 18-year-old girl in sex trade is just the tip of the fast spreading sex trafficking of Indian girl students in the GTA.
In this particular case, the Indian-origin girl was held captive by the three men and being passed around in sex trade. There could be more victims of these men since they were advertising sexual services online.
Indo-Canadian social activists at the forefront of the fight against human trafficking admit that sexual exploitation of girl students from India is increasing in the GTA and beyond.
There are also reports of an uptick in the number of girl students seeking termination of pregnancies.
“A nurse acquaintance of our family says she performs 10-12 abortions involving Indian students each month. She says she never saw anything like before,” says an elderly Indo-Canadian resident of Brampton.
Sadly, it’s also a known fact that many students are willingly entering sex trade to pay their expenses.
“Part of the problem is that most of these girls are away from their families for the first time in their life and they feel free. Since they stay together, one bad apple can spoil others. This is happening,” says a Mississauga-based Indo-Canadian professional who advises international students on financial matters.
Recalling a recent encounter, he says, “A girl student living in an outlying city and working in Brampton was referred to me for income-tax filing. When she came to me, I asked her to remove her mask so I could see whether she was the person whose work I was doing. But she said `no.’ She said she keeps it on all the time. But the moment she walked out, she removed it. She didn’t want to reveal her true identity.”
Ms. Sunder Singh, who as executive director of Toronto-based Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women is in the forefront of the fight against women’s exploitation, says, “The increasing sexual exploitation of girl students, particularly from India, is a new area of concern for us. We have come to realize that this problem runs much deeper than people know.”
At the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women, Ms. Singh says, she and her staff actively track cases of women exploited by human traffickers and help them restart a new life.
According to Ms. Singh, pimps are preying upon international girl students everywhere – at educational campuses, street corners, bus stops, workplaces and even religious places.
“Remember 90 percent of international students coming to Canada are girls, and most of them are from India, particularly Punjab. These girls have never been exposed to big cities and western culture. They are new and pimps target them.”
Ms. Singh also admits that some girls enter sex trade willingly.
“It happens both ways, but mostly they are the victims of pimps who can spot a vulnerable girl from a mile. These girls are new to Canada. They have no friends and families here. They are alone and they want to mingle and talk to someone. That is where pimps come in. They begin with nice compliments to the unsuspecting girls,” says Ms. Singh.
Explaining the modus operandi of pimps, she adds, “Once a pimp gets acquainted with a girl, he starts showering her with gifts and precious things to insinuate himself into her trust.
“This ploy of showing gifts continues for a couple of months. Once he has won her trust, the pimp moves in for the kill. He asks the girl for a favour which is something like this: `I have a friend who is having a bad marriage/time and I want you to accompany him so that he feels better. If the girl refuses, she is reminded of the favours (gifts) done to her and persuaded her to agree. That’s it.
“It takes just one night to start the girl into sex trade.
“By now the pimp has also got all the information about her family to blackmail her. She has no choice but to surrender.”
Speaking about the girl students who choose to enter sex trade on their own, Ms. Singh says many are forced by their financial difficulties to go down this path.
“Unknowingly, parents in India are pushing these girls into this terrible situation. These parents want their daughter to somehow land in Canada so that one day she can sponsor the whole family to come to Canada. They pay initial expenses – first-year fees and travel – and then leave these girls to fend for themselves once they land in Canada. Tell me how will these girls earn enough to support themselves? They cannot. Many opt for sex for money,” argues Ms. Singh
“A girl begins by serving one man, and then another and making a lot of money. She finds it financially very attractive and she is hooked. Her friends who live with her follow suit.”
According to Ms. Singh, “When the next batch of international girl students arrives in Canada and starts having financial difficulties, these old girls are there to tell them that this (prostitution) is the way to make money. The word of mouth is very strong in the student community…these new students start standing at corners. There is a lot of wealth in Brampton and pimping services can be easily accessed.”
Ms. Singh says this problem is spreading from Brampton to Toronto, Vaughan and elsewhere. “There are lots of hubs which are doing this business disguised as massage and beauty parlours. The problem is acute in Brampton.”
Why is the problem widespread in Brampton?
“Because the majority of girl students from India settle in a city which has a huge population from India and has many religious places. Landlords allow multiple students to live in their basements.”
Ironically, says Ms. Singh, the sexual exploitation of many girl students begins with the landlords. “Many compromise with landlords so they don’t have to pay the rent.”
Adds the elderly Indo-Canadian quoted above in this article, “People in the Indo-Canadian community know why many trucking companies, grocers, gas stations, restaurants, and workshops hire only girls – and mostly students. Because they can exploit them in horrible ways. These girls are helpless.”
He says the emerging phenomenon of Indo-Canadian youth gangs is also contributing to this problem..
“Sardaran de kake (spoilt brats of the super rich with ill-gotten wealth) are landing in Canada in the guise of students. They are taking big houses on lease, then bringing in 20 other boys and forming gangs. They own BMWs and Mercedes, they lure girls. It’s all happening here. There was no such problem here till the massive influx of international students.”
Ms. Singh estimates that a pimp can make as much as $230,000 from one girl in a year!
How much does that girl get from the pimp?
“Nothing. All she gets is food and lodging because she is now his captive. She is being passed around. When she turns 24, she won’t be in demand anymore. She is then left to do other chores for the pimp because she has missed out on learning professional skills to earn a livelihood,” she explains.
What’s even worse, adds Ms. Singh, is that the girl cannot even escape because she will be killed by the touts of the pimp.
She is worried that if this pimping trend keeps spreading in the GTA, the future of more and more international girl students will be marred.
“Brilliant girl students come to Canada with a dream of becoming skilled professionals. But instead many will end up without any skills because of human traffickers.”
The Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women has stepped in to help young women secure their future, says Ms. Singh. “Our centre runs programmes for the youth to create awareness of the ever increasing human trafficking in the GTA.”
According to her, many international girl students are intelligent enough to become lawyers and doctors. “But it takes years and lots of money to become a doctor/lawyer. So whatever little courses these girls take, it is all for fulfilling their dream of getting PR.”
The Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women makes these students aware that the highest demand in Canada is for trade skills. “We provide them with connections where they get free training in skills. After 3-4 years of education in skills without paying any money, they get very well-paying professional jobs. They get the red seal (certification) and they start with jobs paying up to $40 an hour anywhere in Canada.”
Ms. Singh says her organization received calls from the construction industry to get them skilled people and they were ready to pay $600 a day.
With the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women, girl students with PR status can get trained in skills for very well-paying jobs without spending much money.
During their training, these girls can even earn $20 an hour and some even land full-time paying jobs even during their training.
Ms. Singh says the doors of the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women (EHCW), a twice accredited non-profit organization working since 1992, are always open for international girl students.
“We can help these students get trained in trade skills, with which some can even make as much money as a lawyer or a doctor. They can become carpenters, electricians, plumbers, florists, tile layers, etc, and get well-paying jobs.”
According to Ms. Singh, someone from the carpenters’ union in Toronto reported that they needed 400 trained carpenters. “But, in Toronto, only 200 of these 400 jobs could be filled. These are high-paying jobs. We will advise these girl students, with PR status, to get into trade skills if they want to live a successful life in Canada.
“Hundreds of people visited us last year and we helped numerous women to get into training programmes to build trade skills.”
Explaining her mission, Ms. Singh says the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women provides not only services to newcomers, immigrants and refugees, but it also focuses on reducing incidents of domestic violence among women and seniors.
“We help people move from difficult situations and empower women and youth to make changes in their lives.”
During the pandemic, the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women staff engaged the youth to undertake a massive effort to get the people (newcomers, immigrants and refugees) vaccinated, deliver food to the affected families, and assist people with filling applications and documents.
They distributed 91,270 pounds of food, meals and groceries and over 90,000 masks and PPEs during the peak of the pandemic.
As a social enterprise, the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women also raises funds by offering a range of services, including translations and interpretation in multiple languages.
It has also created Neighbourhood Pod leaders to reach people in the community, ensuring they were safe and not isolated.
(The Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women can be reached at www.ehcw.ca or 416-663-2978)
READ ALSO: Indo-Canadian community must follow Jewish model to help Indian students
READ NEXT: Why international students in Brampton are committing suicides
[…] In Canada, young Indian students are being sex trafficked, sold to priests and others to abuse them. In India, millions of children go missing, sold to the sex trade, or killed for their organs. […]
Good job ms. Sundar singh . This type of articles should be published all over India , to make parents aware of things happening abroad or in India itself . Though education in India in any field is equally good n better in many streams . But status counts, people send their children abroad especially girls for social status without thinking the pressure of finances . It is sad .
In this article the guy who did a tax return for the girl wearing mask and refuse to remove it. He filed her taxes without confirming her identity because he clearly states what he did.
How are you presuming that he didn’t check her identity? Face identity and document identity (driver’s license, etc) are two different things.
Complete ban on international students is the only solution.
U.K. has same problems. We Sikh Women’s Alliance held a conference in Ilford Town Hall few years back on sexual exploitation of women. We got police involved but they need evidence to make arrests. They cannot stand surveillance outside brothels, unless they have intelligence. One Sikh lady gave me address of brothel her husband ran. When she got home, he beat her and broke her leg. It is happening but it is open secret, that desperate people are pulled into this life.
Dear Ms.Singh
This is very serious issue for our Indian community, it requires lots of awareness campaigns which will help people to understand what human trafficking and exploitation. These girls are very vaunerable and needs help. Let’s all together make a difference in helping them.
Khalistani men trafficking girls from Punjab . That is what it is. Very unfortunate. These same Khalistanis will form gangs, dominate their local Gurudwaras and turn them into Khalistani dens, attack Indian consulate, peddle drugs, traffick women and also portray themselves as defenders of Sikhism.
Though it should be obvious that authority must have been contacted and they must have been working by keeping watches on the vulnerable places. If we capture five pimps, another fifty will stop their activities. our police are very active and intelligent.
I am shocked to read this very good article. As some students got admission under the false qualification, we can see the desperation of Getting to Canada. They become easy target of these pumps.
These article covers everything except the most important thing eg. capture of these pimps. It is most important that we capture them.
you guys are doing wonderful job .these girls are victim away from home .not mature enough to make decision ./plus they are very loose here .no body watching them .they like to enjoy their freedom then financial situation is main factor u quite right . no choice then this become only choice .they are in hell and trapped.they reallly need good and honest support from our community .i dont know how i can find girks with situation so i can provide room food . sm help to put their life on foot they are off track and broken my question to you people how you know who is victim and how to approach them topic is very sensitive they can project me also client . me confused how it can be done . how you dig to the root of these victims .pl gv me advice
[…] swindling foreign students across Canada. Rampant labour exploitation of international students. Sex traffickers preying on female international students aware they are financially vulnerable. A concerning number of […]
Great Job you have started Ms Singh
God bless you and give power to deal with this Nasty business, shame on our community
Thank you once again
Can I publish it news on my Web portal…? For awareness
Ms. Singh,
I really appreciate your article but it could be better. By using only Punjabi community and sardaran de kake you are just targeting one specific community. Even we all come from India and we know about the Indian administration and about India including big cities like Bombay and Delhi. When the things come then human trafficking is more in big cities than Punjab. Where there are no Sardaran de kake living. It is not the matter of writing , it is the matter of working on the issue. Better you show your work on issue rather than telling and talking which we all know. Again punjabis work more than talking. Another thing you will see these things in all communities.
To clarifiy here, Sardaran de kake in this article meant only `spoilt brats of Punjabi parents with ill-gotten wealth.’ The use of Sardaran de kake here didn’t mean sons of sardars.
Then why use the word Sardaraan ???
Sardar is used on reference to a Sikh.
A better phrase would be amir pyo dej vighrey hoye kaakey.
Your style of writing paints a very negative pic of the Sikh community.
btw sardaran de kake are also into gang wars and drug trafficking in Canada.. unfortunately it can’t be denied, just as it can’t be denied that Italian mafia exist.
It cannot be stopped. Only solution is if Canada govt see all bullshit they straightway deport them…if someone come for study, they should focus on that only. But everyone knows…..shame
I have tried to contact the Canadian bazaar regarding this story but no one is responding so thought I would give this a try. I think this story is fabricated or lacking actual fact checking. There are many things we’re just supposed to believe is true. Where are the numbers the stats and study’s proving this to be true. Where are abortion numbers where are those coming from. The rich land owners sons coming over where is this information from is it accurate or someone’s opinion. I think this is an attack on international students to make them look bad and to put fear into people. I know not everyone is good and yes some international students may of taken the wrong/easy path but not to the extent this article states. I would ask anyone from the Canadian bazaar to respond to me to discuss further
God bless you all, for the efforts there are a lot more to research into in the communities, only God knows what is happening in the other parts of the world.
Commendable work Sunder Singh and team. I sense that part of the problem, other than sheer rapacious greed, is that the community has yet to approach sex and sexuality sensibly. The earlier immigrants are least equipped to deal with the topic and yet seem to be the ones filling the airwaves. It seems as if a lot of education is required in India and here. Not to mention financial support for organizations like yours.
Very Good job Ms Sunder Singh
It’s happening because Indian leaders doing only business. And parents and students are innocent and don’t educate abt . Like these systems .which dream they can fulfill in their own country. They must do over there . It’s our bad luck in this materialistic
Wold . Everyone needs lot of money to fulfill their basic needs. I think political systems
and policy makers are failed.
God bless you !
It’s challenge for us .Good luck !
This problem should nor be associated to particular area like Brampton and punjab. Please refer your evidence or sources of this long story. Its really unfortunate to demoralizing only students girls , sex trafficking should be always condemned but with over all perspectives and with some evidence so that it could be curve through Canadian investigation agencies.
Hello
Sir, it’s a great job.
🙏🙌👏
Just we are focused on $$$.do not care how come. its shame for us
I notice a similar situation in Montreal Quebec,
I do not know how we stop.
Please advised
Ms Singh doing a noble work by protecting the young girl students from India. Kindly continue the efforts to make their lives easy. They are intellectuals and should not be ruined like this. It is equally important to make their parents in Punjab/ India aware through media etc so that further deterioration is reduced/stopped.
Forget International, it is happening in India itself. Girls coming to big cities for education, some of them are supporting their education through sex trade. Few years back, there was article( I do not recall details) which sited what was happening in Nagpur, how the girls are supporting their education and lavish lifestyle and also send money back home to support family.
[…] Sex trafficking of Indian international girl students spreading from Brampton to GTA […]
Irony is that, when these people do proud things they want to distinguish themselves as Sikhs, and not Indians. And when they end up doing such shameful things they want to hide behind the Indian or Indo-Canadian identify!
Non-Sikhs are aso equally involved.
SELUTE TO…. BREVO MS. SUNDER SINGH & TEAM
Ms Sunder Singh’s & her teams contribution is really praiseworthy. Financial insecurity builds up the vulnerability of the student which is being exploited. With the reach & technological advancements both Governments can converge on solutions to keep the anxious parents & students together & evade falling prey to such predators.
Gurinder singh
Very good work Ms Sunder and her team
The root cause is that back in India the system does not teach young boys and men to respect the females.Girls are exploited here in schools and colleges as well.
It is the duty of the parents in the first place to educate their daughters about this scenario before leaving the country and assure them that they will provide full financial assistance till the completion of their courses and even beyond.Alternately the educational institutions should arrange student loans for them from Canadian banks so that students don’t have the sword hanging above them for their future funds requirement for subsequent years of the course they are pursuing and last but not least the govt should officially double the permissible working hours for the students per week .
Ms Sunder Singh
Really thankful for the blessed work you & your team is doing,considering the enormous Gays apart from others, hope the young boys specially working without permit in stores etc, could be in similar Ordereal..
If identity of boys / gangs undertaking such like dirt /exploits can be done secretly to indian authorities, exposure & warning can be done ( at least respected unaware parents back home can manage own blood on wrong path) otherwise I feel depression/ exploitation will be on rise , as money is involved…
Warm regards
Good service to helpless people…”service to humanity is service to God…”. The Almighty will bless for your noble deeds… I hope the concerned Authorities will take cognizance of such inhuman activities going on in Canada to bring the culprits into books ASAP.
Indeed noble work…Keep it up👍👍👍…A true Singh
All students need to be aware of this.
Good job Ms. Sunder Singh and team.
Very good. Someone is there to think about the problems facing our girls coming from India. First thing that should be done is that this issue of exploitation should be taken to the government and Canada should put brakes on bringing so many students.
Second in Punjab people should be made aware what their children are doing in Canada for living. They are pushing their daughters to go Canada and get settled down there by doing whatever. Very young age they send them here alone. We are living in Brampton city. Brampton should take action against the homeowners (most of them are real estate agents) who make easy money from students. There is no law to deal with these people. In one house, sometimes there are about 15 students living together. You can imagine what is going on there. Let us know what we can do to stop it. We r old , living in canada past 50 years, never saw or heard things like that.
Noble work, Ms. Singh.
I wish it becomes Mass Movement
Following your lead.
It is very sad that the young bright girls from the Punjab area are being exploited, presumably, by others from Punjab. Are there not strict laws for such practices by the so-called pimps?
Good job Ms Singh. God bless you.
Most of young people of Punjab dream is just to go abroad by hook or crook.
Few days ago when I was standing at the bus stop one Indo-Canadian man was continuously starring at me. I felt very uncomfortable, so I confronted him. His reply was: “It’s my eyes. I can look wherever I want.”
Hearing his statement, the other girl was also furious and passed a weird look on him. Suddenly he changes his statement to: “Do you think you are an Ashwariya Rai?”
He was continuously abusing me and when I threatend him that I am going to call 911, he immediately got a call and he escaped, saying “I am not afraid its just that my brother is coming to pick me up, don’t think I am afraid of you.”
I just want to say that we girls are here to pursue our dreams and we expect that our community supports us rather than pulling us down. It was the first incident I faced in Canada and it was done by Indo- Canadian. If we can’t trust own our people, whom to trust?
Noble service Ms. Sunder Singh, God bless you and your team for the tireless services you provide to the helpless and needy.
Is it possible to publish such articles in mainstream papers in Punjab? So the people get aware of such incidents and not have only the rosy picture of coming to Canada without proper means.
This is a problem since ages. Only people like Ms Sunder Singh can even begin to make a cut in this nefarious circle. Let us hope that she succeeds and othets emulate her. A wellwisher.
Canada should reduce international student fees for education
Inspiring work and leadership, Ms.Sunder Singh.
Good job, Ms. Sunder Singh, but who are the people starting this sex trafficking.
Shame on the Indo-Canadian community and their greed. Evils and demons walking in human form . No conscious living. Karma will get you.
Good job Ms. Sunder Singh. Sex rackets is the worst thing that falls in colleges and universities campuses. It’s a organized crime and now everyone in this trade is absolutely shameless. They (pimps, middlemen) tell you the charges for their services as if they are providing you a luxurious service like I m just providing room that is $100 for 30 minutes, the rest you can talk to girl how muchshe will charge… it’s bitter but truth.
It is shocking to read on sex trafficking and other bad activities in Indo canadian community in Brampton. More organizations need to enter for removing this stigma. It is condemnable, horrible, shameful for Indo Punjabis, so called sikhs mostly. However, services rendered by Ms. Sunder Singh are acknowledged with thanks, as there is dire need to spread these messages, back home in India. Even I can think of joining your team if you so like to contributing in your on going project(s).
Right.
Noble work, Ms. Singh. God bless you and your team.
Tremendous service, Ms. Sunder Singh. God bless you & your team.
Shame on our community for exploiting our young vunerable children.