According to the United Nations, Human Trafficking is “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs".
Identifying and Interacting With Victims of Human Trafficking
Victim Identification:
- A victim of trafficking may look like many of the people you help every day. Look for:
- Evidence of being controlled
- Evidence of an inability to move or leave a job
- Bruises or other signs of battering
- Fear or depression
- Non-English speaking
- Recently brought to this country from Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America, Canada, Africa or India
- Lack of passport, immigration or identification documentation
- Traffickers use various techniques to keep victims enslaved:
- Debt bondage – financial obligations, honor-bound to satisfy debt
- Isolation from the public – limiting contact with outsiders and making sure that any contact is monitored or superficial in nature
- Isolation from family members and members of their ethnic and religious community
- Confiscation of passports, visas and/or identification documents
- Use or threat of violence toward victims and/or families of victims
- The threat of shaming victims by exposing circumstances to family
- Telling victims they will be imprisoned or deported for immigration violations if they contact authorities
- Control of the victims' money
Screening Tool For Victims Of Human Trafficking:
Before you ask the potential trafficking victim any sensitive questions, try to get the person alone. A trafficker could be posing as a spouse, other family member or employer. However, when requesting time alone, you should do so in a manner that does not raise suspicions.
Suggested Screening Questions:
- Can you leave your job or situation if you want?
- Can you come and go as you please?
- Have you been threatened if you try to leave?
- Have you been physically harmed in any way?
- What are your working or living conditions like?
- Where do you sleep and eat?
- Do you sleep in a bed, on a cot or on the floor?
- Have you ever been deprived of food, water, sleep or medical care?
- Do you have to ask permission to eat, sleep or go to the bathroom?
- Are there locks on your doors and windows so you cannot get out?
- Has anyone threatened your family?
- Has your identification or documentation been taken from you?
- Is anyone forcing you to do anything that you do not want to do?
Remember that gaining the trust of a human trafficking victim is a critical first step in providing assistance.
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To report an emergency human trafficking crime, call 911.
To report a non-emergency human trafficking crime or tip, contact:
U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Hotline - 866.DHS.2ICE
U.S. Department of Justice Trafficking in Persons & Worker Exploitation Task Force Hotline - 888-428-7581
National Human Trafficking Referral Hotline – 888.3737.888
Global Rescue Relief Trafficking Rescue Hotline - 877.264.8356
