Law enforcement officials must do more to protect Canadians, particularly women and children, from being dragged into the sex trade against their will, a new report says. The report, issued by the U.S. State Department, also said Canada must prosecute more of its own citizens who engage in so-called sex tourism abroad.

According to the U.S. State Department's "Trafficking in Persons Report 2009," Canada is "a source, transit and destination country for men, women and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor."

The report, released Tuesday, says Canadians are trafficked abroad for the purposes of sexual exploitation, while Canadian women and girls, "many of whom are aboriginal," are trafficked internally.

Benjamin Perrin, a University of British Columbia law professor and human trafficking expert, said Wednesday that while Canada has laws that make human trafficking a crime, it doesn't have a national action plan to investigate crimes and prosecute offenders.

"What's really missing though is putting the pieces of the puzzle all together," Perrin told CTV's Canada AM. "The report that came out yesterday criticized Canada for a lack of enforcing those laws against traffickers, and for a lack of co-ordination."

The report analyzed the progress being made in 175 countries to deal with human trafficking. The State Department told 52 countries and territories, primarily in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, that they could face sanctions if they do not improve their efforts on the issue. That is up from 40 countries the 2008 report put on notice.

The RCMP estimates that between 800 and 1,200 people in Canada have been victims of human trafficking, despite a 2005 law making it illegal. There have only been five convictions for human trafficking in the past year, according to Perrin.

One man convicted of trafficking a 17-year-old girl spent only a week in jail on a two-year sentence, because he was granted two-for-one credit for a year he spent in pre-trial custody, Perrin said.

And it was only in 2006 that Canada passed a law that allows foreign workers brought here for the purposes of sexual exploitation to gain temporary resident permits so they can get medical care.

Perrin also charged that little is being done to prosecute Canadians who travel abroad to engage in sex tourism and the exploitation of women and children.

"This is a global effort to deal with this problem because, quite frankly, offenders know no borders," Perrin said.

According to Perrin, a law prohibiting Canadians from engaging in sex tourism abroad "has only been used three times since 1997."

Victor Malarek, a correspondent for CTV's W-FIVE who has written two books on the subject, said the report sheds light on what amount to gross human rights abuses around the world, including in Canada.

He said Canadians need look no further than advertisements in the backs of free urban newspapers that advertise foreign escorts.

"You have to ask yourself: How did these women get here?" Malarek told CTV.ca.

These women are likely not landed immigrants, he said, nor are they business-savvy women who have decided to set up shop in Canada.

Malarek said that weak law enforcement against human trafficking and sexual exploitation largely boils down to misogyny.

"You have a lot of testosterone in police forces," Malarek said, "where they think these women are making money the easy way, on their backs."

The report did praise Canada for complying "with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking," and for its efforts in aiding victims.

But it also contained recommendations for Canada, including:

• Stepping up efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offences.
• Enacting more proactive law enforcement techniques to investigate trafficking cases.
• Increasing efforts to investigate and prosecute Canadians suspected of child sex tourism crimes overseas.
• Offering more protections for foreign trafficking victims.

A private member's bill, introduced by Conservative MP Joy Smith, calls for minimum five-year sentences for anyone convicted of trafficking someone under the age of 18.

Bill C-268 has passed its second reading in the House of Commons and is now before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

We really need that law," Perrin said.