The current services do not fully meet all the needs of those affected by human trafficking in its various forms. The private sector can become an ally in improving the services offered by harnessing its human, material and specialized resources.

Side-by-Side is a collaborative platform that aims to be useful, caring, and safe for all those who need to use it.

Mission

Side-by-Side seeks to improve the quality of life and promote the empowerment of people who are victims of trafficking in any of its forms or who are experiencing consequences resulting from the exchange of sexual services.

Its main objective is to improve the continuum of services by:

Improving the services offered in response to the various needs of survivors.

Developing the collaboration and coordination between community, institutional and private sectors.

Encouraging awareness and mobilization of businesses against human trafficking.

Values

Kindness: Welcoming each person with attention, respect and non-judgment in a solidarity centred approach and the wellbeing of others.

Accessibility: Reaching every person in need of the services offered and overcoming the various obstacles to accessibility.

Safety: Putting integrity and safety at the heart of all our processes as well as in the development of services.

Inclusion: Ensuring that resources and services adapted to different situations are offered to every person who could benefit from them.

Confidentiality: Respecting privacy by acting with discretion and vigilance.

Engagement: Mobilizing organizations and individuals to take real, logical and genuine actions in the long term to improve the response to needs.

Awareness: Informing allies from different sectors about the realities of human trafficking and providing them with the right tools.

Beacon of the Freed
Working together towards a just society in which human beings are no longer exploited.

Founded in 2015, Beacon of the Freed is a non-profit that raises awareness among organizations and the public about the realities of human trafficking. It offers direct intervention, training and awareness campaigns and tools. It also contributes with different programs, active in several regions, by improving the response to the issue.

Beacon of the Freed wishes to remain neutral on the legalization of prostitution to offer the best possible services and recognizes that this is a complex question that must be dealt with as such.

Partners

Thanks to a five-year investment from Women and Gender Equality Canada and a diverse, complementary partnership, Side-by-Side will allow victims, those close to them, or anyone active in the sex industry dealing with its consequences to have access to private sector allies to meet their needs.

Would you like to offer your services on the Side-by-Side platform?

Do you want to get involved or learn more? Here are the next steps:

Request the pre-recorded information session. Meet with a member of our team.

Frequently asked questions

The program

  • Why use Side-by-Side? What are the advantages for me?

    All services offered on the Side-by-Side platform are selected through a thorough process. The professionals and businesses listed on the platform have completed a learning program to raise their awareness of the complex realities and diverse needs of people affected by human trafficking. The services are tailored to each person’s needs, are affordable and are offered with kindness.

    Side-by-Side was designed to improve the living conditions and empowerment of people affected by human trafficking. It is a helpful and safe tool that offers professional, confidential and welcoming referrals!

  • Is the program safe? Will my personal information be protected?

    The platform is totally safe for all those using it. We exercised caution in all aspects of its design and use, including robust, well-designed protection systems.

    A “Quick Exit” button allows you to leave the Side-by-Side platform automatically.

    You should not save the address of this website or add it to your favourites. If possible, activate the incognito mode on your web browser. This feature may be called “private browsing”, “InPrivate Filtering”, “incognito mode” or “private window”. It allows you to browse the web without saving your history and prevents your browser from saving information in the memory cache.

    Apart from the Side-by-Side team, no one has access to the platform’s confidential and secure configuration information.

    If you have any questions or concerns, contact us.

  • How can I be sure that the person that I contact is trustworthy?
    • The program’s allies are recruited by referral
    • We conduct criminal background checks
    • A participation agreement is signed between the sponsoring organization and the professional or business
    • To be able to provide their services to users of the Side-by-Side program, businesses and professionals must complete a learning program
    • The program establishes a support framework specific to the business sector and the role played with program users. The program also checks on the service provider’s ethics and commitment to the program through quarterly follow-ups. The capabilities of each ally are verified through the fulfillment of the program’s mission.
    • In spite of all the precautions taken, the sponsoring organization, Beacon of the Freed, cannot be held responsible for the behaviour of external collaborators.
  • How much do the services offered on the Side-by-Side platform cost?

    The rates for the services offered are at the service provider’s discretion.

    Some service providers offer reduced-rate or pro-bono services on Side-by-Side.

  • Who is the sponsoring organization?

    Created in 2015, Beacon of the Freed is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness among organizations and the public of the realities of human trafficking. It offers direct intervention, training and awareness-raising, and, through the programs it currently runs in many regions, complements services that already exist. For additional information, please visit the website.

  • How did the idea for the program originate?

    Existing services do not fully meet all the needs of the people affected by human trafficking in all its forms. The private sector can contribute human, material and specialized resources by becoming an ally in the improvement of existing services.

    Thanks to a five-year funding commitment from the Minister for Women and Gender Equality Canada and a variety of complementary partnerships, Side-by-Side allows victims, their families and anyone active in the sex industry or experiencing its consequences to have access to Allies in the private sector to meet their needs.

    All of the program’s actions are aimed at growing external community organisations and private sectors participation to better address observed and documented shortcomings in the existing service offer.

  • I’d like to make a suggestion or leave a comment about the site in general. What do you suggest I do?

    Please share your comments and suggestions by using the “Contact us” form.

Computer issues

  • Why am I having trouble downloading certain resources?

    Side-by-Side is a referral platform and redirects people to different tools offered by a variety of sources (community, institutional and private). Tools such as certain PDF documents are held in Side-by-Side’s infrastructure to facilitate access to them, while video links, web pages and other external links are hosted on their source platform, which provides a download link if needed.

    We regularly ensure that the tools and documents we provide as references on the Side-by-Side platform are updated and are still relevant for users.

    If you come across a broken link or corrupted file, please inform us by using the “Contact us” form.

Filing a complaint or informing us of an incident

  • How can I file a complaint or inform you of an incident?

    You can file a complaint or let us know about an incident by using the form provided for this purpose if you believe you have been a witness to, or the victim of an act, event or omission that could result in a compromise of information or services.

    The form will be sent to the Side-by-Side team, who will follow up on it.

  • How does the Side-by-Side team handle complaints?

    The team ensures that the identity of the source and the information provided remain confidential to the extent provided by law.

Other ways to contribute