Know the Signs of Human Trafficking

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What to Look For
•    Constantly having to check in with someone via cell phone with an urgency to call or text a response
•    Can be escorted and/or watched
•    Regularly picked up by someone the parent/guardian doesn’t know
•    Needing to be picked up at a public location

•    Gone for a few days or more without a good explanation of where they were
•    Being isolated from friends and family
•    Lack of identification
•    Moves addresses frequently and/or often stays in hotels
•    No proof of legitimate employment
•    Unexplained injuries or bruises
•    New tattoos (indicate branding or ownership)
•    Change in physical appearance (hair and nails done)
•    Unexplained gifts
•    New clothing, lingerie, designer shoes and handbags

•    Nova Scotia authorities say parents should know their child's online activity and all passwords

 

HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS DESCRIBED AS MODERN-DAY SLAVERY
Crime Stoppers defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, and/or harbouring of persons for the purpose of exploitation, typically for sexual exploitation or forced labour. Traffickers maintain control over their victims through the use of force, fraud, deception and/or threats of violence to the victim or someone known to them. A victim is being exploited if they are providing their services under circumstances where it would be reasonable to conclude that they feared for their safety or that of someone known to them if they refuse to provide it. 
Child victims of trafficking are often exploited for sexual purposes, including prostitution, pornography and sex tourism. 

We all want to be loved, and traffickers exploit vulnerabilities that many people already face. They make false promises of a better life—whether that means a feeling of belonging, a better income, or a chance for new opportunities. (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)

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Human trafficking targets the vulnerable, those who have experienced: 

• Abuse

• Trauma

• Neglect

• Poverty

• Violence

• Family breakdown

• Homelessness

• Disability

Victims of human trafficking face many barriers to escape and getting the help needed, including: psychological barriers, knowing and trusting avenues for help, threats to family and friends, identity theft, accrual of debt, lack of physical ability to leave, and more. (AFRJ)

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Read, "IN THEIR SHOES: UNDERSTANDING VICTIMS’ MINDSETS AND COMMON BARRIERS TO VICTIM IDENTIFICATION"
This document outlines a wide variety of both physical and psychological reasons why trafficked persons cannot or will not leave a trafficking situation.