Human Trafficking Myths and Signs!

WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?
U.S. law defines human trafficking as the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel a
person into commercial sex acts or labor or services against his or her will. The one
exception involves minors and commercial sex; inducing a minor into commercial sex is
considered human trafficking regardless of the presence of force, fraud or coercion.

WHAT IS COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION?
Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) is what happens to anyone sold in the sex
industry. It’s in many ways synonymous with sex trafficking and includes all forms of
sexual exploitation for profit, including escort, street and brothel prostitution, as well as
pornography and stripping. Any time payment is exchanged for some kind of sexual
objectification of another person it’s considered commercial sexual exploitation.
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RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS
According to The Polaris Project, the following are red flags for identifying potential
victims of human trafficking.
 Signs of physical abuse or evidence of verbal threats
 Signs of emotional abuse or dependency
 Signs of poor hygiene, fatigue or sleep deprivation
 Signs of untreated illness or injuries
 Controlled or restricted communications
 No control over money or personal IDs
 Appears to be with a “boyfriend” or multiple males
 Little to no possessions, possibly carried in a plastic bag
 Does not make eye contact
 No knowledge of current or past whereabouts
 Signs of fear, anxiety, tension or submission
 Is not free to leave or come and go at will

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MYTHS VS. TRUTHS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Myth: It’s always or usually a violent crime

 Reality: By far the most pervasive myth about human trafficking is that it always -
or often - involves kidnapping or otherwise physically forcing someone into a
situation. In reality, most human traffickers use psychological means such as,
tricking, defrauding, manipulating or threatening victims into providing
commercial sexual exploitation.

Myth: Only undocumented foreign nationals get trafficked in the United States
 Reality: Polaris has worked on thousands of cases of trafficking involving foreign
national survivors who are legally living and/or working in the United States.

Myth: Human trafficking involves moving, traveling or transporting a person
across state or national borders
 Reality: Human trafficking is often confused with human smuggling, which
involves illegal border crossings. In fact, the crime of human trafficking does not
require any movement whatsoever. Survivors can be recruited and trafficked in
their own home towns, even their own homes.

Myth: All commercial sex is human trafficking
 Reality: All commercial sex involving a minor is legally considered human
trafficking. Commercial sex involving an adult is human trafficking if the person
providing commercial sex is doing so against his or her will as a result of force,
fraud or coercion.

Myth: If the trafficked person consented to be in their initial situation, then it
cannot be human trafficking or against their will because they “knew better.”
 Reality: Initial consent to commercial sex or a labor setting prior to acts of force,
fraud, or coercion (or if the victim is a minor in a sex trafficking situation) is not
relevant to the crime, nor is payment.

Myth: People being trafficked are physically unable to leave their
situations/locked in/held against their will
 Reality: That is sometimes the case. More often, however, people in trafficking
situations stay for reasons that are more complicated. Some lack the basic
necessities to physically get out - such as transportation or a safe place to live.
Some are afraid for their safety. Some have been so effectively manipulated that
they do not identify at that point as being under the control of another person.

Myth: traffickers target victims they don’t know
 Reality: Many survivors have been trafficked by romantic partners, including
spouses, and by family members, including parents.