Buying Sex is Not a Sport: Vancouver Initiative to Prevent Human Trafficking (BSNS) was a grassroots campaign that raised awareness about the human trafficking thought to surround the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that some claimed facilitated the provision of prostitution for visitors. According to the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, "The hype around large sporting events and increases in trafficking for prostitution is often based on misinformation, poor data, and a tendency to sensationalise. Despite the lack of evidence, this idea continues to hold great appeal for prostitution abolitionist groups, anti-immigration groups, and a number of politicians, scholars and journalists."
The campaign was launched on May 22, 2009 and was created by academics and former prostitutes. Tara Teng, who was Miss B.C. World at the time, participated in the campaign, as did Trisha Baptie, a former sex worker. Multiple organizations opposing human trafficking were involved in the campaign, including Resist Exploitation, Embrace Dignity; and Eve. T-shirts and lapel pins sporting the name of the campaign were sold. Former prostitutes who participated in the campaign called for the implementation of prostitution laws in Canada analogous to , which makes purchasing sex illegal as a form of violence against women.
The campaign was launched on May 22, 2009 and was created by academics and former prostitutes. Tara Teng, who was Miss B.C. World at the time, participated in the campaign, as did Trisha Baptie, a former sex worker. Multiple organizations opposing human trafficking were involved in the campaign, including Resist Exploitation, Embrace Dignity; and Eve. T-shirts and lapel pins sporting the name of the campaign were sold. Former prostitutes who participated in the campaign called for the implementation of prostitution laws in Canada analogous to , which makes purchasing sex illegal as a form of violence against women.
Freedom Week was a March 2011 campaign that took place in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada to raise awareness about contemporary slavery. The campaign was organized by Tara Teng, who was Miss Canada at the time, and Todd Hauptman, a worker in the office of Member of the Legislative Assembly Mary Polak. The campaign was primarily young-adult-organized; there was not much input from older adults. Teng's father found this fact "the most amazing thing about Freedom Week." Teng said that "victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation were found in communities all across the Lower Mainland" that year. She had hoped to use the event to connect people with organizations opposing human trafficking, and also to form relationships between these organizations. Before the campaign, she was in talks with Not for Sale, Exodus Cry, and International Justice Mission. The campaign involved a prayer meeting, performance art in various locations, and a walk in Langley. and the walk became the main event of the Freedom Week campaign. and included an information session in Douglas Park. Speakers at the information session included Peter Fassbender, Mayor of the City of Langley; Mark Warawa, MP for Langley; and Jamie McIntosh, founder of IJM Canada. The three spoke about human trafficking on a local, national, and international level respectively. Teng expected that attendees would be surprised by the information they were given and she hoped that they would be moved to action against human trafficking. Teng expected 2000 people to attend. Teng said that the beauty of the week came from the fact that it included "people of all ages, from all walks of life, banding together". All of the events were free, but donations were accepted for organizations opposing human trafficking.
Tania Fiolleau (born 1971) is an activist against human trafficking, prostitution, and the sex industry. In 1996, she divorced her husband, who had been abusing her; he was convicted four times. He subsequently fought with her for the next five years for custody of their two sons. In order to finance her fight to retain custody of her sons, Fiolleau responded to a vague classified advertisement. She thereby entered the sex industry and became a famous Madam married to the Mafia. Fiolleau became a madam in charge of four brothels. Fiolleau was married into the Russian mafia. She eventually left the sex industry and became an Ordained Pastor. She once had five hundred prostitutes working under her. She later said, "I do apologize publicly for exploiting these women. I was exploited myself." Fiolleau is from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and wrote Souled Out, an autobiography and bestseller. A second edition of the book was published and an American film adaptation was planned. In 2011, she joined Tara Teng, who was Miss Canada at the time, for the Ignite the Road to Justice tour, which travelled to 10 Canadian cities raising awareness about human trafficking. Tania is currently a TV Talk show host on Joy TV Network. Fiolleau is an international speaker and ordained Pastor. Fiolleau is the foundress of Save the Women International Organization.
Corporal Jassy Bindra is the human trafficking co-ordinator for the British Columbia division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). She emphasizes the importance of knowing the indicators that identify human trafficking victims; namely, their lack of access to their visas, their looking to their employers before speaking, their inability or refusal to speak English, and their frequent relocation. In 2011, she stated that there were more than 30 ongoing investigations into human trafficking across Canada. At the thirteenth national conference of the Metropolis Project in 2011, she led a workshop called "RCMP Practices and Perspectives on Human Trafficking". In March 2012, she spoke at the Nanaimo Campus of Vancouver Island University about human trafficking in Canada. More specifically, she discussed what members of the public can do to combat human trafficking, what the government is doing about human trafficking, and how to recognize a human trafficking victim. Later that month, she delivered a presentation about human trafficking at the Chilliwack city hall in conjunction with Stop Sexual Exploitation of Youth Awareness Week. The presentation lasted two hours and was open to the public. That September, she appeared on a panel discussion about human trafficking in conjunction with a performance of Andrew Kooman's She Has a Name in Vancouver. The following month, she was a guest speaker at the launch of the Awareness-Raising Project to Combat Human Trafficking, also in Vancouver.