CONTINUING EDUCATION When You Can’t Walk Away: Identifying Human Trafficking Targeting the victim or recruiting: As mentioned traffickers focus on vulnerable individuals. Areas of opportunity that have been identified include bus stations or truck stops, youth centers, homeless shelters, schools, and malls. Peer recruiters are often used to lure individuals into the business. With the increase in the use of social media, doors have opened for ease of access, especially to younger individuals. At any given time, there are 750,000 predators online, and in 2020, Polaris Project reports trafficking recruitment increased 125% on Facebook and 98% on Instagram.4,5 Gaining trust: This is a critical step in the process. Traffickers excel at listening and use opportunities to form bonds over common interests. If the victim is suffering from low self-esteem or has no place to live or food, the additional attention is welcomed. Interestingly, information gained through these initial conversations may later be used against to victim to control their behaviors.4 Meeting needs: Good things to come are promised by the trafficker. Money, food, housing, love, protection. The trafficker represents a protector, a rescuer, and a hero.4 Isolation: Once the relationship is established, the trafficker will begin to isolate the victim, becoming the center of their life. It is important to eliminate any voice of reason or dependence on other people so that the trafficker can control the victims’ behaviors and activities. This isolation also makes it more difficult for victims to reach out for help as the abuse grows more intense.4 Exploitation: Treating people unfairly to benefit from their work is a key part of the trafficking cycle. Victims may be pushed to participate in activities they are uncomfortable with, such as asking them to have sex with a friend of the trafficker. Over time victims are conditioned to believe these behaviors are normal. They may even feel Human trafficking is defined as the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person into commercial sex acts or labor against their will. There is a much higher level of awareness of the sex trafficking trade in the United States, but labor trafficking is also very prevalent. Often referred to as Modern Day Slavery, this industry generates 150 billion dollars each year in revenue, second only to the drug trafficking industry. In the United States alone, it is estimated that $45 million is spent on online sex trafficking, with 300,000 children at risk. These encounters generate approximately $200,000 each year, per victim.1 Many believe that trafficking begins when the white van pulls into a neighborhood and heads to a street corner where children are waiting for the school bus. A child is then snatched and whisked away. While this scenario may happen, it is not the typical model used by traffickers. In fact, most trafficking victims know, may trust, and love their trafficker. Data on sex trafficking from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, from January 2020 – August 2022, provides the following statistics where the relationship to the trafficker was disclosed: 44% of sex trafficking victims were trafficked by a family member. 39% of sex trafficking victims were trafficked by an intimate partner.2 You may be surprised to learn that traffickers come from all walks of life. They may work as the CEO of a large corporation, be the neighbor next door, church leader, soccer coach, drug dealer or pimp. They are brilliant at their craft and prey on vulnerable individuals. These individuals may be looking for financial security, housing, food, drugs, love, or acceptance. Several populations of individuals are considered “at-risk”. Foreign nationals (documented/ undocumented) People with addictions Financial stress, lack of transportation People of color, indigenous communities History of childhood sexual abuse Part of foster care, juvenile justice systems High crime neighborhoods Sexual orientation, gender identity Runaways Migrant workers Limited English proficiency Traffickers are experts at identifying at-risk individuals, developing relationships, and offering to provide solutions that will meet every need. While adults are victims of human trafficking, children and adolescents are at high risk of being targeted. Historically females are trafficked more frequently, but boys are now the fastest growing segment. Between the years 2004 – 2020, the number of boys identified as being trafficked more than quintupled.3 Make no mistake, this is an industry based on power, profit, and vulnerability. The trafficker utilizes a grooming process to gain full control over their victim and to manipulate them into cooperating in their own exploitation. Grooming occurs in several stages which are outlined below: KAREN GREGORY RN, CDIPC 8 | Nov 2024
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