Timea Nagy (born 1977) is a Canadian activist who has spoken on behalf of victims of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

. She founded Walk With Me, a Toronto-based organization that aids survivors of trafficking. Nagy was featured in an anti-trafficking campaign by the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

in 2009. Her activism has drawn upon her own experience of

forced prostitution Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" app ...

in Canada.

Capture and escape

Born in Hungary, Nagy was trafficked for

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

in Canada in 1998. She escaped after three and a half months. After her escape, Nagy began advocating on behalf of human trafficking victims. She said that she "started speaking out ecauseit seemed like there was a huge need". In 2009, Nagy founded Walk With Me, a Toronto-based organization that gives aid to human trafficking survivors and partners with the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

(RCMP) in rescuing victims, some of whom are only 12 years old. In reference to this work, Nagy said: "We do what we can... we pick them up, take them to a safe place, feed them, and try to help them." Nagy also began working at a

women's shelter A women's shelter, also known as a women's refuge and battered women's shelter, is a place of temporary protection and support for women escaping domestic violence and intimate partner violence of all forms. The term is also frequently used to ...

and travelling across Canada to raise awareness among police officers about

human trafficking in Canada Human trafficking in Canada is prohibited by law, and is considered a criminal offence whether it occurs entirely within Canada or involves the "transporting of persons across Canadian borders. Public Safety Canada (PSC) defines ''human traffickin ...

; the RCMP estimates that 1,400 women and children are trafficked into Canada each year, 600 of whom are trafficked for sexual purposes. Nagy said that she finds it difficult emotionally to speak about her experiences of sexual slavery, "but until the public hears it from a victim, it's not real".

Aftermath and activism

In 2009, The

featured Nagy's story in an anti-human-trafficking campaign, called, "The Truth Isn't Sexy"; the campaign sought to raise awareness about "people who are sold on the street, who don't have a choice". That September, Nagy spoke at a

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

workshop that had been convened as part of a larger human trafficking seminar for immigration and police officials, a few days after the first time human trafficking charges were laid in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

; police alleged that two women from

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and one from

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

had been tricked into sexual slavery in Canada through similar circumstances to those Nagy had experienced 11 years prior. At the workshop, Nagy said that, "It could happen to anyone... All you have to do is answer a stupid ad. Or go with a guy who tells you that he loves you. They'll take you to another city, and you have no way of coming back." In June 2010, Nagy visited

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

to speak about human trafficking at a conference for police officers. The conference was held at

Enoch Cree Nation The Enoch Cree Nation #440 (, ) is a First Nations band government in Alberta, Canada. Members of the Nation are of Cree ancestry and speak the Plains Cree dialect of the Cree language group. The band is a signatory of Treaty 6 and is a membe ...

's River Cree Resort, and was organized by the

Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) is an umbrella government agency uniting efforts by multiple Canadian law enforcement organizations. Known by the acronym ALERT, the agency was established in 2006. Its campaigns on behalf of the peop ...

. Also that month, the MP for Kildonan — St. Paul

Joy Smith Joy Ann Smith (born February 20, 1947) is a Canadian politician. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba between 1999 and 2003, and was in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2015. Education and business career Smith was born ...

's private member's bill, Bill C-268, was passed as

An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years) ''An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years)'' () was a private member's bill that was enacted on June 29, 2010, by the 40th Canadian Parliament. Until that ...

. Nagy was one of the bill's five main proponents, the others being

Natasha Falle Natasha Falle (born 1973) is a Canadian professor at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who was forcibly prostituted from the ages of 15 to 27 and now opposes prostitution in Canada. Falle grew up in a middle-class home and, when her ...

, another former human trafficking victim who now runs the anti-human-trafficking organization Sex Trade 101; Tamara Cherry, a journalist for the ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Pos ...

'' who writes about human trafficking in Canada; Brian McConaghy, a former RCMP officer who works with

Ratanak International Ratanak International (previously The Ratanak Foundation) is a Christian charity founded by Brian McConaghy in 1989 that works exclusively in Cambodia helping the country rebuild after decades of revolution, civil war and genocide. Ratanak, whic ...

, another anti-human-trafficking organization; and Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs

Ron Evans Ronald Barry Evans Order of Australia, AM (7 July 1939 – 9 March 2007) was an Australian rules footballer, Chairman of the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1998 to 2007, as well as President of the Essendon Football Club from 1988 to 19 ...

, who raised awareness about victims of the sex industry in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. That October, Nagy held workshops for police officers in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. In 2011, Nagy began operating a

hotline A hotline is a Point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point information transfer, communications Data link, link in which a telephone call, call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by t ...

for human trafficking victims. By 2013, she had spoken with more than 200 victims. In June 2011, Nagy spoke out against a decision that had been made to strike down some Canadian anti-prostitution laws; she argued that "this ruling will not make it any safer" for human trafficking victims, and that "it will not free them up from being enslaved". Nagy attended the hearing with a group of other former victims of prostitution who were opposing the striking down of the laws. One of these other women was Trisha Baptie.

Alan Young Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British-born actor. Young is best known for portraying Wilbur Post in the television comedy '' Mister Ed'' (1961–1966) and voicing Disney's Scrooge McDuck for over ...

, the lawyer seeking to strike down the laws, addressed these women by saying, "I'm sorry for what happened to you, but don't extrapolate from your experience into public policy." That September, Nagy attended Toronto's second annual Freedom Walk. At this event, aimed at raising awareness about human trafficking nationally and internationally, Nagy was joined by such other abolitionists as

, founder of Sex Trade 101; Trisha Baptie, co-founder of

EVE Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

; Shae Invidiata, founder of Free-Them;

Tara Teng Tara Teng (; born August 17, 1988), is a Canadian former pageant winner. She was crowned Miss Canada 2011 and also Miss World Canada 2012. During her title reigns she was an advocate for human rights and spoke about human trafficking. Early li ...

, who was

Miss Canada Miss Canada is a beauty pageant for young women in Canada. It was founded in Hamilton in 1946. No title was awarded from 1993 through 2008. The trademark was purchased in 2009 by a Québec organization who produces the pageant under the name to ...

at the time; Constable Lepa Jankovic; MP Joy Smith; MP

Olivia Chow Olivia Chow (born March 24, 1957) is a Canadian politician who has been the 66th and current mayor of Toronto since July 12, 2023. Previously, Chow served as the New Democratic Party (NDP) member of Parliament (MP) for Trinity—Spadina fro ...

; and MP Terence Young.

Results from activism

In March 2012, the

Court of Appeal for Ontario The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently mistakenly referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal) (ONCA is the abbreviation for its neutral citation) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Ha ...

struck down several anti-prostitution laws, and Nagy said that this decision would result in "police officers avingway less power to arrest domestic traffickers". That July, Nagy praised two decisions that were made in Canada to combat human trafficking. The first of these decisions was one announced by

Diane Finley Diane Finley (born October 3, 1957) is a former Canadian politician. From 2006 through 2015, she served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Her ministerial portfolios included Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, ...

, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, and

Jason Kenney Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022, and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member o ...

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

. This decision was to prevent employers in the sex industry from hiring temporary

foreign worker Foreign workers or guest workers are people who work in a country other than one of which they are a citizen. Some foreign workers use a guest worker program in a country with more preferred job prospects than in their home country. Guest worke ...

s. The second decision was that of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada to stop processing new applications for sex-industry-related businesses, such as

escort agencies An escort agency is a company that provides escorts for clients, usually for sexual services. The agency typically arranges a meeting between one of its escorts and the client at the customer's house or hotel room (outcall), or at the escort' ...

, massage parlors, and strip clubs. In response to these two decisions, Nagy said: "I think it's a really good start, utwe just have to make sure other avenues are tightened as well, such as more strict monitoring of student visas and visitors visas." She said that some women are kept in strip clubs, without access to a phone or to their identification papers.

Awards

In 2010 in Winnipeg, Nagy received an award at the first annual Honouring Heroes ceremony, which was organized by Joy Smith, who is also an anti-human-trafficking activist. Nagy responded to her award by saying, "I'm honoured to be honoured." Nagy was one of five award recipients at the ceremony, the other four being the other primary proponents of Bill C-268. At the ceremony, Nagy spoke about the erotic services advertised on Craigslist, and said that she was disgusted that the girls sold through the website were inaccessible by the police and anti-human-trafficking organizations.

References

External links