Human Trafficking Prevention

Human trafficking is often referred to as modern day slavery. There are two types of trafficking: sex and labor. Human trafficking is not smuggling; smuggling is transportation-based, and trafficking is exploitation-based. Smuggling occurs across borders, human trafficking can occur without transporting victims across state or international borders.

Victims can be any age, gender, or nationality. Victims do not have a choice, there is no consent. Many victims are lured with false promises of financial or emotional security. Children who frequently run away from home and other vulnerable youth are at higher risk of being trafficked. Traffickers tend to target younger victims through:

• Social media
• Homeless shelters and other common places where homeless youth may be found
• Shopping malls and other common places where young kids may hang out

Some long-term effects that victims may face include:

• Long-term problems with drugs and alcohol
• Memory loss from traumatic stress
• Feelings of shame, fear, and guilt
• Suicidal thoughts
• Difficulty integrating into society
• Lacking basic life skills

Victims should receive the proper care to help them through trauma.

• No control over own I.D
• Signs of injuries or abuse
• Fear, anxiety, depression, submissiveness, nervousness
• Appear malnourished or have bad hygiene (poor physical and dental health)
• Sudden change in attire, personal hygiene, relationships, and attitude
• Has few or no personal possessions
• Living with his or her employer
• Under 18 and in prostitution
• Multiple people living in a cramped space
• Is unable to speak for themselves or their answers appear scripted or rehearsed
• Employer is holding identity documents
• A person is unpaid or paid very little for work

• Control victims papers and legal documents
• Threaten victims that they risk getting arrested or deported
• Threaten to harm or kill the victim's family
• Use debt and other fines in order to keep victim from leaving
• Restricting victims movement (restraining them)
• Isolation
• Psychological and emotional abuse to create a dependency

• Be aware of your surroundings
• Ask for help if you feel you are in danger
• Be educated, learn the facts
• Know your child's friends
• Supervise your child's activities
• Monitor where your children spend their time and their surroundings
• Keep your child safe on the internet
  • Talk to your children about their online activity
  • Look at your child's friend list; do they know everyone on it?
  • Show your child how to set their profile to private
  • Monitor your child's photos and posts, have them delete anything that is inappropriate
  • Monitor their use of Apps on smartphones

• Creating a dependence of the victim upon the trafficker through financial needs, debt, drugs and, the need of a safe place to stay
• Blackmailing with threats of turning in the victim or those in their family who are undocumented, or threatening to expose the youth's past actions or pictures to parents and/or peers
• Threats of violence
• Isolation from family and friends

• Knows little about his or her whereabouts
• Works excessively long hours
• Exhibits fear and anxious behavior
• Was hired with false promises
• Has inconsistencies in his or her story

• Spends an increasing amount of time online or on their phone
• Has suddenly changed their appearance, how he/she dresses, or grooming habits
• Suddenly have items they wouldn't be able to afford, such as a cell phone, new clothes, etc.
• Has become withdrawn from family
• Has become more secretive

• Know your child's friends and who they talk to. Traffickers often build friendly relationships with victims to slowly gain their trust.
• Establish guidelines for and monitor use of Internet, apps, and devices. Child sex trafficking is increasingly facilitated through technology.
• Teach your child about healthy relationships and personal boundaries. Don't be afraid to talk about child trafficking.

Sex trafficking is a modern day form of slavery in which a person is being sexually exploited for a profit. Sex trafficking can occur at many locations; bar and clubs, escort services, or other places where women and men may be put at risk for exploitation.

Victims of sex trafficking are forced into many forms of sexual exploitation including prostitution, stripping, pornography, live-sex shows, mail-order brides, and sex tourism.

Get educated and learn the signs of sex trafficking, so that you can help identify potential trafficking victims. Human trafficking awareness training is available for individuals, businesses, first responders, law enforcement, educators, and federal employees, among others.

Labor trafficking is the most common form of trafficking in the United States. It involves the use of violence, threats, lies, debt bondage, or other forms of coercion to force people to work against their will.

• Debt bondage: when an individual is forced to work involuntary to pay off debt or loan which can never actually be paid off.
• Force labor: victims are forced to work against their own will; most common is "cash-in-hand" transactions such as housekeeping, carnivals, farming, construction, and other jobs where workers are expecting a cash payment.
• Indentured servitude-paying for ones passage to America by working for no money.
• Child labor: children are trafficked for use in sex industries such as prostitution, pornography, sex tourism and forced marriage.

Victims can be any age, gender, or nationality. Vulnerable populations are frequently targeted by traffickers.

Immigration status, recruitment debt, isolation, poverty, and a lack of strong labor protections are just some of the vulnerabilities that can lead to labor trafficking.

• Victims are often isolated to prevent them from getting help. Their activities are restricted and are typically watched, escorted or guarded by associates of traffickers.
• Victims are young children, teenagers, men, and women
• Living with his or her employer
• A person is unpaid or paid very little for work
• Fear, anxiety, depression, submissiveness, nervousness

• Use debt and other fines in order to keep victim from leaving
• Control victims papers and legal documents
• Psychological and emotional abuse to create a dependency
• Threaten victims that they risk getting arrested or deported

Get educated and learn the signs of labor trafficking, so that you can help identify potential trafficking victims. Human trafficking awareness training is available for individuals, businesses, first responders, law enforcement, educators, and federal employees, among others.

In the case of an immediate emergency:

• Call your local police department or emergency access number.

To report suspected human trafficking crimes or to get help from law enforcement:

• Call Oakland County's Human Trafficking Prevention TIP Line: 248-858-0411
• Email HumanTraffickingPreventionTIPS@oaklandcountymi.gov.

To report sexually exploited or abused minors:

• Call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's (NCMEC) hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST
• Report incidents online.