Help Stop Human Trafficking By Being Aware
How can you tell if someone in your neighborhood is a victim of human trafficking? Here are a few red flags to look for:
- Person carries around hotel room keys
- Person seems to be under the control of another person
- Person seems to be under continual surveillance
- Person has all contacts controlled and monitored
- Person doesn’t manage their own finances
What all of the above human trafficking flags have in common is a generic thread that runs through all human trafficking living conditions: control by another person or persons. Among indicators of human trafficking, this one is too often overlooked.
More Slavery Signs
- Person does not possess own ID or travel documentation accompanied by lying about age
- Person works excessively
- Person lives in poor or cramped conditions such as multiple occupation households
- Person is not paid or paid very little
- Person lives with employer
- Person speaks little or none of the local language
- Person exhibits fear of of being deported
- Person is seldom alone and not allowed privacy
- Person as visible injuries such as scars, burns, lacerations and bruises.
- Person has injuries around head, including the face, nose and mouth.
- Person has untreated infections and sickness. You observe an appearance that betrays poor health and unsanitary living conditions.
- Person exhibits drug use.
- Person exhibits compliant, fearful, panicky behavior.
While it might be true that organizations help stop human trafficking, individuals can be a volunteer to stop human trafficking simply by tracking and reporting suspicious behavior that they notice going on around them.
Some other signs to look out for: the person exhibits emotional stress – depression,anxiety, despair,panic attacks,confusion, phobia’s,disorientation,self inflicted wounds, attempted suicide…is branded or tattooed with a man’s name or ‘daddy’…shows signs of feeling of helpless, shamed, humiliated, shocked, in denial, or in a state of disbelief… exhibits inability to make eye contact…shows extreme weight loss… gives inconsistent stories.
