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Canadian research on the domestic sex trafficking of adolescents and adults is in its infancy with little exploration of social service providers' knowledge. This is an important gap as international research has identified that providers are well situated yet often lack the knowledge necessary to identify and help sex trafficked persons. The current study used a critical social approach to examine social service providers' knowledge about domestic sex trafficking in Canada. Fifteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom with diverse providers from Ontario. Interviews were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. Analysis revealed varying levels of knowledge among providers, sometimes inconsistent with self-rated expertise and experience. Some providers with moderate-to-high expertise conveyed detailed knowledge of sex trafficking definitions and a continuum between sex work and sex trafficking while others with the same reported expertise conflated sex work and sex trafficking, suggesting that they may have over-estimated their level of knowledge. Most discussed “vulnerabilities” perceived as increasing sex trafficking risk: lack of belonging, stigmatization, societal and individual level racism. Providers described tactics used by traffickers to lure and retain individuals in sex trafficking. Formal education about sex trafficking across regions and providers was lacking, suggesting that sex trafficked persons are subject to the “luck of the draw” when seeking help from social service providers. The development of a core curriculum could help ensure that all social service providers in Canada–and other jurisdictions in which domestic sex trafficking is an issue–have the necessary knowledge to appropriately address sex trafficked persons' needs.

We investigated the social relations shaping the reproductive health care experiences of women with female genital cutting (FGC) in Toronto, Canada. Using Institutional Ethnography, we interviewed eight women with FGC and seven obstetrician/gynecologists (OB/GYN). We found a disjuncture between women's needs during appointments that extended beyond the reproductive body and range of care that doctors were able to provide. Women engaged in emotional healthwork during appointments by explaining FGC to doctors, reading doctors' body language, and getting through vulvar/vaginal examinations. Women reported that if they had emotional reactions during appointments, they were often referred to a mental health specialist, a referral on which they did not act. OB/GYNs described their specialty as "surgical"-training centered around treating reproductive abnormalities and not mental health issues. Therefore, the disjuncture between women's needs and OB/GYNs' institutional training highlights the difficulties inherent when bodies of "difference" encounter the reproductive health care system.

Introduction There has been limited research on sex trafficking in Canada from a health and health care perspective, despite U.S. research which points to health care providers as optimally positioned to identify and help those who have been sex trafficked. We aim to better understand health care providers’ knowledge about, attitudes towards, and care of those who have been sex trafficked in Ontario, Canada. Methods and analysis Using a semi-structured interview guide, we will interview physicians, nurses, and social workers working in a health care setting in Ontario until data saturation is reached. An intersectional lens will be applied to the study; analysis will follow the six analytic phases outlined by Braun and Clarke. In the development of this study, we consulted the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) with regards to reflexivity and study design. We will continue to consult this checklist as the study progresses and in the writing of our analysis and findings. Discussion To our knowledge, this will be the first study of its kind in Canada. The results hold the potential to inform the development of standardized training on sex trafficking for health care providers. Results of the study may be useful in addressing sex trafficking in other jurisdictions.