Human traffickers use a variety of methods to exploit people, including false job advertisements, lies about opportunities and abduction. We all have a responsibility to be aware of such methods and to act if we believe somebody is at risk of, or is, being trafficked.
How do Traffickers Control Victims? Traffickers employ a variety of control tactics, the most common include physical and emotional abuse and threats, isolation from friends and family, and economic abuse. They make promises aimed at addressing the needs of their target in order to impose control.
Locations. Victims can be found in legal and illegal labor industries, including child care, elder care, the drug trade, massage parlors, nail and hair salons, restaurants, hotels, factories, and farms. In some cases, victims are hidden behind doors in domestic servitude in a home.
As the numbers above indicate, child trafficking occurs the most frequently in Latin America and the Caribbean. Child trafficking is also the most prevalent in developing countries, though it does occur in developed and industrialized economies as well.
Victims of human trafficking are young children, teenagers, men and women. Approximately 800,000 victims annually are trafficked across international borders worldwide, and between 14,500 and 17,500 of those victims are trafficked into the United States (U.S.), according to the U.S. Department of State.
Someone may be experiencing labor trafficking or exploitation if they: Feel pressured by their employer to stay in a job or situation they want to leave. Owe money to an employer or recruiter or are not being paid what they were promised or are owed. Do not have control of their passport or other identity documents.
Human trafficking occurs when a perpetrator, often referred to as a trafficker, takes an Action (induces, recruits, harbors, transports, provides), and then employs the Means of force, fraud or coercion for the Purpose of compelling the victim to provide commercial sex acts (sex trafficking) or labor/services (labor ...
Children are trafficked for: sexual exploitation. benefit fraud. forced marriage.
Immigrant and refugee children are vulnerable to sex trafficking, especially when they are unaccompanied by a parent or guardian. Factors prompting migration may elevate the risk of sexual exploitation, including violence in the community or within the home, armed conflict and prominent gang activity in the area.
Where is human trafficking most prevalent? According to the ILO's latest data, the Asia and Pacific region has the highest number of victims of forced labor and marriage, accounting for more than half of the global total — 29.6 million.
According to the International Organization for Migration, the definition of a human trafficker is "anyone who knowingly contributes in the trafficking of people with the intent of exploiting a victim is considered a human trafficker." And, trafficking involves a wide range of people, including: Recruiters.
Children account for half of the victims of human trafficking. In fact, the average age that a young person becomes involved in sex trafficking is 12 years old.
Traffickers in the United States exploit people with little or no social safety net. They look to individuals in vulnerable situations due to economic hardship, immigration status, political instability, natural disasters and other causes.
The youngest victim identified was 11 years old. Agents and investigators also located 141 adult victims of human trafficking.
Recruitment: Sex traffickers approach potential victims in a variety of ways, including pretending to be a potential boyfriend or friend, contacting them via social media such as Facebook, posting newspaper or Internet ads for jobs and opportunities, or even threatening or kidnapping them.
Young girls are procured because, to traffickers, who see them as inanimate objects, they have a long shelf-life. They can be sold and re-sold. The most vulnerable girls to child sex trafficking are those who are homeless, are immigrants, and come from marginalised communities.
Trafficking is used for a wide variety of purposes, such as domestic, agricultural or sweatshop labour, marriage and prostitution. Australia is a destination country for victims of trafficking, and evidence suggests the majority are women trafficked into debt-bonded prostitution.
The children at risk are not just high school students – studies show that the average age a child is trafficked into the commercial sex trade is between 11 and 14 years old.
Victims of human trafficking can be young children, teenagers, men and women. They can be U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) or foreign nationals, and they can be found in urban, suburban, and rural areas.
Traffickers target vulnerabilities and play on a person's need for value, approval and love. They often play the role of dashing romantic or nurturing father while showering the victim with gifts and signs of affection in order to win them over.