The Facts
There are many ways to get involved in the fight against human trafficking. Be aware of your surroundings and look for these signs when encountering a potential victim:
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Items in their possession such as hotel business cards, escort service business cards, hotel keys, a number of condoms etc.
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Presence of an overly controlling or abusive boyfriend.
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Excess amount of cash
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Chronic runaway/homeless youth
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Signs of branding (tattoo/jewelry)
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Lying about age/false identification
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Inconsistency in stories
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Lack of knowledge about a given community and whereabouts
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Inability or fear to make contact
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Injuries/ signs of physical abuse or torture
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Restricted/scripted communication
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Attitude- defensive, rude, evasive, aggressive
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Demeanor- fear, anxiety, depression, submissive, tense, nervous
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Little knives or some kind of weapon (used to keep themselves safe)
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Style of shoes and clothing, sometimes they will be wearing tight clothes, short skirts, etc. Does the time of year match the type of clothing?
It is estimated that at least 100,000 American children are being exploited through pornography or prostitution every year. The age of trafficked children varies.
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The average age a child is first exploited through prostitution is between 12 and 14 years old, though children as young as infants have been identified in pornography.
Among children, teens, and adults living on the streets in the United States, involvement in commercial sex activity is a problem of epidemic proportion.
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Many girls living on the street engage in formal prostitution, and some become entangled in nationwide organized crime networks where they are trafficked nationally.
Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), sex-trafficking requires force, fraud, or coercion UNLESS the victim is a minor.
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Any minor used in a commercial sex act (the exchange of any item of value for a sex act) IS a victim of trafficking, regardless of their willingness or desire to engage in the sex act.
Criminal networks transport women and children around the United States by a variety of means—cars, buses, vans, trucks, or planes—and often provide them counterfeit identification to use in the event of arrest.
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As a result, there are hundreds of thousands of women and girls, each day, who are treated as criminals by local law enforcement as they are arrested and incarcerated as a means to protect them from their traffickers.
