3 minute read
Learn to Spot the Signs of Human Trafficking
Business leaders have the power to change attitudes and actions that harm businesses and exploit women and children. If you commit to do just one thing during National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in January 2022, the single best action you can take is to learn how to spot the signs of trafficking.
Human traffickers profit from the commercial exploitation of children, women, and men. There are two types of trafficking in the United States: Sex trafficking is (1) the prostituting of a child or youth (under 18) or (2) the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel an adult into commercial sex work. Labor trafficking is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person into work.
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As the U.S. anti-trafficking movement has grown in our understanding of this diverse and complex crime, we are learning more about how specific people, such as medical professionals, teachers, truck drivers, and restaurant and hotel personnel, in addition to friends and family members, can help identify and report possible trafficking. Everyone can help by learning the types of trafficking and paying attention to the people around us.
Who is Most Vulnerable? Anyone can experience trafficking in any community, just as anyone can be the victim of any kind of crime. Generational trauma, historic oppression, discrimination, and other societal factors and inequities create community-wide vulnerabilities. Traffickers recognize and take advantage of people who are vulnerable.
Who Are the Traffickers? There is no evidence that traffickers are more likely to be of a particular race, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation. They may be family members, romantic partners, acquaintances, or strangers.
How Do Traffickers Lure People In? Stories become weapons in the hands of human traffickers— tales of romantic love everlasting or about good jobs and fair wages just over the horizon. Sometimes, the stories themselves raise red flags. Other times, traffickers or potential traffickers may raise red flags during recruitment.
Recognizing Labor Trafficking Labor trafficking includes situations where men, women, and children are forced to work because of debt, immigration status, threats and violence. Keeping victims isolated — physically or emotionally — is a key method of control in most labor trafficking situations. But that does not mean you never cross paths with someone who is experiencing trafficking.
Recognizing Sex Trafficking Sex trafficking occurs when individuals are made to perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Any child under 18 who is involved in commercial sex is legally a victim of trafficking, regardless of whether there is a third party involved.
