Human Trafficking Awareness Month
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| Photo Credit: DoD - Defense.gov |
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.
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Photo Credit: Prince William County Public Schools |
Warning Signs of Human Trafficking
Since human trafficking is often a crime that is hidden in plain sight, it is important to be aware of its warning signs. Some indications that a person may be a victim of human trafficking include (especially in the case of women and children):
-Appearing malnourished
-Showing signs of physical injuries and abuse
-Avoiding eye contact, social interaction, and authority figures/law enforcement
-Seeming to adhere to scripted or rehearsed responses in social interaction
-Lacking official identification documents
-Appearing destitute/lacking personal possessions
-Working excessively long hours
-Living at the place of employment
-Checking into hotels/motels with older males, and referring to those males as a boyfriend or “daddy,” which is often street slang for pimp
-Poor physical or dental health
-Tattoos/ branding on the neck and/or lower back
-Untreated sexually transmitted diseases
-Small children serving in a family restaurant
-Security measures that appear to keep people inside an establishment - barbed wire inside of a fence, bars covering the insides of windows
-Not allowing people to go into public alone, or speak for themselves
These warning signs are adapted from information provided by the Polaris Project and its National Human Trafficking Resource Center and Innocents at Risk.
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Photo Credit: Lone Star Legal AidReport TraffickingIf you are experiencing an emergency please call 911. To report a tip of suspected sex trafficking please call the hotlines listed at the bottom of this page. Please note that Shared Hope is not a hotline and does not have the time resources to respond to tips. |
-Jealous, controlling, and violent
-Significantly older than female companions
-Promise things that seem too good to be true
-Encourage victims to engage in illegal activities to achieve their goals and dreams
-Buys expensive gifts or owns expensive items
-Is vague about his/her profession
-Pushy or demanding about sex
-Encourages inappropriate sexual behavior
-Makes the victim feel responsible for his/her financial stability. Very open about financial matters.
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| Photo Credit: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work |
TO REPORT A TIPwith Anti-Trafficking Services in your Area
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Photo Credit: humantraffickinghotline |
1-888-373-7888
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is a national, anti-trafficking hotline and resource center serving victims and survivors of human trafficking and the anti-trafficking community in the United States. The toll-free hotline is answered live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
If you like more human trafficking resources and learn about other organizations to help combat human trafficking. Here below are suggestions.
- A21 Campaign: https://www.a21.org/
- Agape International Missions: https://aimfree.org/
- Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking(CAST):https://www.castla.org/
- Coalition Against Trafficking in Women: https://catwinternational.org/
- Dwelle Collaborative: https://www.dwellecollaborative.com/
- Exodus Cry: https://exoduscry.com/
- Global Fashion Mission: https://globalfashionmission.com/
- International Justice Mission: https://www.ijm.org/
- Justice 180: https://justice180.org/
- Long Beach Task Force: http://www.longbeach.gov/everyone-home-long-beach/task-force/
- Love146: https://love146.org/
- Polaris Project: https://polarisproject.org/
- The Project Foundation/Project MP: https://www.theprojectfoundation.com/
- Traffickinghub: https://traffickinghub.com/
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| Photo Credit: James Goll |
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