Milwaukee Police Human Trafficking Unit lighting the path to safety
Photo Credit - Milwaukee Police Officer Maggie Farrand
What is Human Trafficking?
Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked worldwide – including right here in the United States. It can happen in any community and victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality. Traffickers might use the following methods to lure victims into trafficking situations:
- Violence
- Manipulation
- False promises of well-paying jobs
- Romantic relationships
Language barriers, fear of their traffickers, and/or fear of law enforcement frequently keep victims from seeking help, making human trafficking a hidden crime.
What is Forced Labor?
Forced labor occurs when individuals are compelled against their will to provide work or service through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. This crime happens both in the United States and overseas. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that 24.9 million people around the globe were in forced labor as of 2016. Victims are rarely able to seek help for various reasons. For instance, they may be hindered by language barriers, or they may physically be unable to leave the premises to seek help if their movements are restricted and monitored by their employer.
Who is Affected?
Traffickers who exploit people for forced labor do not discriminate. Neither do employers: Victims can be any age, race, religious affiliation, gender identity, or nationality. They may also come from any socioeconomic group. Certain risk factors, however, may make certain individuals more vulnerable to forced labor than others.
These include:
- Unstable immigration status
- Language barriers
- Poverty and lack of basic needs like food, shelter, and safety
- The psychological effects of a recent or past trauma
- Lack of social support systems like friends, family, and community
- Physical or developmental disabilities
Traffickers frequently target vulnerable populations, such as children, individuals without lawful immigration status, those with debts, and those who are isolated, impoverished, or disabled, to name a few. U.S. citizens, foreign nationals, women, men, and children can all be victims of forced labor.
Indicators of Human Trafficking
Recognizing key indicators of human trafficking is the first step in identifying victims and can help save a life. Here are some common indicators to help recognize human trafficking. You can also download or order the Blue Campaign indicator card, which is a small plastic card that lists common signs of trafficking and how to report the crime.
- Does the person appear disconnected from family, friends, community organizations, or houses of worship?
- Has a child stopped attending school?
- Has the person had a sudden or dramatic change in behavior?
- Is a juvenile engaged in commercial sex acts?
- Is the person disoriented or confused, or showing signs of mental or physical abuse?
- Does the person have bruises in various stages of healing?
- Is the person fearful, timid, or submissive?
- Does the person show signs of having been denied food, water, sleep, or medical care?
- Is the person often in the company of someone to whom he or she defers? Or someone who seems to be in control of the situation, e.g., where they go or who they talk to?
- Does the person appear to be coached on what to say?
- Is the person living in unsuitable conditions?
- Does the person lack personal possessions and appear not to have a stable living situation?
- Does the person have freedom of movement? Can the person freely leave where they live? Are there unreasonable security measures?
Not all indicators listed above are present in every human trafficking situation, and the presence or absence of any of the indicators is not necessarily proof of human trafficking.
Myth: Human trafficking does not occur in the United States. It only happens in other countries.
Fact: Human trafficking exists in every country, including the United States. It exists nationwide in cities, suburbs, and rural towns and possibly in your own community.
Myth: Human trafficking victims are only foreign born individuals and those who are poor.
Fact: Human trafficking victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality. They may come from any socioeconomic group. A socioeconomic group is the social standing or class of an individual or group. It is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation.
Myth: Human trafficking is only sex trafficking.
Fact: Sex trafficking exists, but it is not the only type of human trafficking. Forced labor is another type of human trafficking; both involve exploitation of people. Victims are found in legitimate and illegitimate labor industries, including sweatshops, massage parlors, agriculture, restaurants, hotels, and domestic service.
Myth: Individuals must be forced or coerced into commercial sex acts to be victims of human trafficking.
Fact: Under U.S. federal law, any minor under the age of 18 who is induced to perform commercial sex acts is a victim of human trafficking, regardless of whether he or she is forced or coerced.
Myth: Human trafficking and human smuggling are the same.
Fact: Human trafficking is not the same as smuggling. “Trafficking” is based on exploitation and does not require movement across borders. “Smuggling” is based on movement and involves moving a person across a country’s border with that person’s consent in violation of immigration laws. Although human smuggling is very different from human trafficking, human smuggling can turn into trafficking if the smuggler uses force, fraud, or coercion to hold people against their will for the purposes of labor or sexual exploitation. Under federal law, every minor induced to engage in commercial sex is a victim of human trafficking.
Myth: Human trafficking victims will attempt to seek help when in public.
Fact: Human trafficking is often a hidden crime. Victims may be afraid to come forward and get help; they may be forced or coerced through threats or violence; they may fear retribution from traffickers, including danger to their families; and they may not be in possession of or have control of their identification documents.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Below are several safety tips to keep in mind while online and using social media:
- Don’t share personal information (where you live, work, go to school, or details about your personal life).
- Set your profile to private so only your friends in real life can get access.
- Never accept a friend request from someone you don’t know in real life.
- Don’t share photos with anyone that you wouldn’t be comfortable with your parents, guardians, or friends seeing.
- If you do share a photo and someone uses it to threaten or blackmail you, you have options. Talk to a trusted adult about how to protect yourself or get help.
- If you plan to meet someone you met online in person, it should be in a public setting, like a restaurant or coffee shop, and let a trusted friend know who, where, and when you are meeting.
- Do your research on a job offer that seems too good to be true by reading reviews on company rating websites or reaching out to current or past employees to validate information about the job.
- If someone isn’t who they seem to be, or you think you are being lured into a potentially exploitative situation, tell a trusted adult. Reporting the person could help stop them from potentially exploiting other people.
- Trust your instincts! If something feels wrong about a conversation you are having with someone online, stop the conversation and block the profile.
Project iGuardian is an initiative by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations focused on keeping children and teens safe from online predators through education and awareness. For more resources such as additional safety tips and how to report suspected cybercrimes, visit https://www.ice.gov/topics/iGuardians.
For more information about online safety and how you can get help visit NetSmartz. You can report suspected child sex trafficking to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
you are not alone
