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What is human trafficking?
Human trafficking is when people are moved, forced, or tricked into doing work or activities they don’t want to do, often involving sexual exploitation or forced labour.
It is a human rights violation that can happen within a country or across international borders.
Who is at risk?
Trafficking can happen to anyone, but especially vulnerable populations:
- Indigenous women and girls
- Youth
- Migrants
- Newcomers
- Refugees
- LGBTQIA+ community members
- People with disabilities
Some risk factors include:
- Loneliness
- Unstable family life, moving a lot or conflict at home
- Unmet needs and insecurities
- Past traumatic experiences
- Lack of knowledge about healthy relationships or worker rights
Traffickers control people in different ways, but the main way is through fear, lies and manipulation. Traffickers pretend to be friends or romantic partners to build trust and then make threats against their families. They usually make people feel too scared or embarrassed to ask for help.
Types of Trafficking
There are different types of trafficking, but it is always about someone being controlled unfairly and being forced into unsafe work or providing sexual services.
Sex Trafficking
Sex trafficking is about being forced to do things like dating or relationships for money. According to the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline, traffickers are often someone that a victim knows and has built trust with. Sex trafficking situations often look like intimate partner violence.
Labour Trafficking
Labour trafficking is about being forced to work, usually in unsafe conditions, underpaid or not paid at all. People working in these areas may be at greater risk of forced labour:
- Farming
- Child and senior caregiving
- Hospitality services, especially nail salons, hotels and restaurant kitchens
- Construction
- Cleaning businesses
Warning Signs
It isn’t always easy to notice the signs of human trafficking. Covenant House says that survivors of sex trafficking didn’t always understand what was happening to them as they were being lured, groomed and later trafficked.
Luring and grooming, according to Alberta’s Child Advocacy Centres, are the first stages of most human trafficking. It is often very carefully planned, and it can take place over weeks, months or even years.
Some signs of luring and grooming include:
- Receive lots of expensive gifts
- Have "unexplained" cash
- Withdraw from family and friends
- Be involved in an all-consuming relationship with a new friend or boyfriend
- Skip school and miss curfew
- Do things out of character, like drinking or drugs
- Act secretive about activities, new friends or a boyfriend
- Have a new or unusual tattoo
Common behaviours of someone who is at risk or already being trafficked include someone who seems:
- Afraid - they appear to be constantly worried about someone finding or hearing them
- Controlled - they are never left alone, and their new friend or partner is always around
- Unable to leave - they are in a bad relationship or job but seem unable or unwilling to consider leaving
Online Safety
It is important to learn how to recognize the signs of someone being trafficked. By raising your awareness and knowing what to look for, you could help save someone’s life, maybe even your own.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says human traffickers now often use social media channels, online marketplace sites, and webpages to recruit people and attract clients.
Suggested online safety tips from the United Nations include:
- Set strict privacy settings - Consider setting your accounts to ‘private’ and turn off location sharing on posts.
- Beware of strange friend requests - Only accept a friend or follow requests from people you know, even if you have friends in common
- Don’t overshare - Never share personal information, such as your phone number, address, or live location online.
- Beware of advertisements that seem too good to be true - Promises of easy money or difficult language in an employment contract are usually a good sign that the job ad is not real.
- Report it!- Don’t hesitate to unfriend, block or report someone who is talking to you in a way you don’t like.
- Know the warning signs of trafficking
Where to Get Help
If you know someone who is possibly being trafficked, you can encourage them to seek help. You can help them to:
For More information
Last updated:
December 6, 2024
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