Beginnings

In 2016, YWCA Halifax received funding from the Canadian Women’s Foundation to bring together partners and stakeholders concerned about the commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth in Nova Scotia. Initially the partnership was called NSTEP - The Nova Scotia Trafficking Elimination Partnership, and included key stakeholders from government, community, and those with lived experience dedicated to the Prevention, Intervention and Aftercare of victims and survivors of human trafficking in Nova Scotia.

In those early days the Partnership was a small, but mighty group that included:

  • YWCA Halifax

  • Department of Community Services Sexual Violence Prevention & Early Intervention

  • Stepping Stone

  • Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre

  • HRM Youth Advocate Program

  • Avalon Sexual Assault Centre

  • Tri-County Women’s Resource Centre

  • RCMP & HRP

  • IWK SeaStar Program

  • HRP and NS Provincial Victim Services

  • Trauma Recovery for Exploited Youth (TREY)

Laying the foundation

In those early days, partners and stakeholders were identifying many gaps and systemic barriers to addressing the issue of CSEC in Nova Scotia and not everyone was on the same page about how to define and deal with the issue. Much of the initial work of the partnership involved coming up with a common definition and consulting with people with lived experience about best practice in programs and services.

At that time, there was no single agency within the partnership which had a mandate to work with youth who were being commercially sexually exploited in the community. However, by 2018, YWCA Halifax received funding from the Department of Community Services for NSTAY - Nova Scotia Transition and Advocacy for Youth Program, which consisted of a coordinator and 2 part-time peer support workers.

Additionally in 2018, the Department of Community Services was working on a number of programs and initiatives to support youth in-care who were affected by the issue, and the RCMP received funding to create the Provincial Human Trafficking Team.

By 2019, the partnership had grown to over 40 partners, including Schools Plus, a collaborative, interagency approach supporting the whole child and their family with the school as the center of service delivery. The Departments of Community Services and Justice also made strategic investments for more dedicated services through the funding of YWCA Halifax’s Safer Spaces Housing Program, The Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova' Scotia’s GATE Program, Nova Scotia Native Women’s Association’s Jane Paul Indigenous Women’s Resource Centre, and The Association of Black Social Workers’ Prevention Initiative for African Nova Scotian Communities.

A dedicated Crown Attorney for prosecuting HT cases was also put in place, and Provincial Victim Services created new Human Trafficking Navigators, to provide additional support to victims and survivors regardless of whether or not they were pursuing criminal charges against their perpetrators. By the summer of 2019, a critical foundation had been laid in Nova Scotia to deal with the issue of CSEC.

Evolving

By late 2019, the partnership had created a common definition of the issue and introduced a Statement of Values for working with victims and survivors that was inclusive of those who identified as being sex workers, and took a harm-reduction approach to services and supports. Not all partners agreed with this evolution in thinking and approach, so in late 2019, YWCA Halifax took a bold move to dissolve NSTEP, and reform and rebrand as TESS - The Trafficking and Exploitation Services System. TESS was structured as a Community of Practice that prioritized awareness, training, and community-based responses to the issue.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, TESS partners were keen to continue the work, and through the use of virtual platforms were able to expand into rural Nova Scotian communities and offer free inter-agency training modules which were unencumbered by distance. TESS launched a Facebook Page, Twitter, and Instagram Account to bring further awareness to the issue.

In 2020, with new funding from the Department of Community Services, the purpose of TESS shifted towards community mobilization and collaboration. Also in 2020, with funding from The Community Foundation of Nova Scotia, TESS partners engaged in the first Hearing Them Consultation - an interview project involving 95 women and gender-diverse folks with lived experience of the sex trade from across the province to inform the development of new programs, policy and priorities.

By 2021, the partnership had grown to a staggering 150 professionals from over 70 agencies across Nova Scotia, including a curriculum specialist from the NS Department of Education who was instrumental in the implementation of core learning outcomes related to CSEC in the Healthy Living 7 curriculum and inclusion in the Grade 7 Sex Book.

Still so much work to do!

For 2022, the TESS Partnership is focused on digging into the root causes of CSEC and addressing them through collaboration, resource development, and collective advocacy. We head into the new year having launched a WAGE funded project to develop and test a model of collaborative service delivery called CASE - Coordinated Access to Support Exit. And we will be releasing the results of our 2021 Hearing Them Consultation to inform the development of new programs and supports.