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Sex-Trafficking

How To Recognize Sex-Trafficking

Sex trafficking affects 25 million people around the globe, according to The Polaris Project, an organization dedicated to the “fight to eradicate modern slavery.”

When most people think of sex trafficking (or human trafficking), they envision it as a far-off problem, something that affects communities in foreign corners of the globe. What you may not have considered, however, is that sexual assault through trafficking occurs in the U.S. every day.

Perhaps you’ve heard that the Super Bowl sees a dramatic increase in occurrences of sex trafficking in the cities where it is held. While it is important to remember the problem of sex trafficking during that time, it’s important to remember that sex trafficking is happening at all times in the United States at the same levels of frequency.

While rates of reported sex trafficking are lower in the US than they are in some other regions, it is certainly an issue that Americans must address. It is estimated that for every 1,000 citizens, 1.3 people are trafficked in the U.S. and living in slavery conditions.

Those affected by sex trafficking are typically involved in industries that you may not have considered. It is fairly common for victims of trafficking to be involved in domestic work, agriculture, traveling sales, restaurant/food services, and health/beauty services. Many of the people involved in this sort of exploitation are sexually abused by employers in addition to being exploited for labor purposes. Victims can be trafficked in their own states, cities, and even their own homes.
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What Is Sex Trafficking?

Sex traffickers seek out vulnerable boys, girls, and women and lure them, or outright kidnap them, and remove them from their friends and family and force them into performing sex acts and sexual slavery. Most victims find themselves in abusive situations from which escape is both difficult and dangerous. These predators use everything from drugs, physical and sexual abuse, lies, psychological manipulation, and actual imprisonment to get their victims to do what they want.

Physical

A victim of sex trafficking has likely experienced physical abuse ranging from being beaten to being starved. Victims also likely suffer from severe physical exhaustion. The mental strain from this traumatic experience can also put you at risk for developing high blood pressure, digestive problems and effect overall brain health. However, these risks are lowered when a person seeks help through trauma counseling.

Emotional

If you are a victim of Sex Trafficking, you have likely experienced coercion and manipulation. Traffickers use fear, shame, withholding love and so much more to keep the victim under their control. You may now struggle with low self-worth, deep shame, PTSD, depression, and anxiety. It is important to remember that none of this is YOUR fault and there is hope. Seek counseling and tell your story.

Spiritual

It is not uncommon for those who have suffered a traumatic experience such as sex trafficking to go through a spiritual break down which is also known as a crisis of faith. You're likely dealing with many unresolved feelings about how God could have allowed this to happen to you. You may also have trust issues since your trust was broken by your trafficker. Yet you likely desire to hold onto something bigger than yourself and feel a longing for spiritual wholeness. Don’t give up. Keep seeking spiritual truth and how God may fit into your current journey.

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Check out these stories of hope from others who have struggled with this issue.

Keeping Yourself Safe

It is actually a myth that all human trafficking is the result of a violent kidnapping by a stranger. It is not uncommon that a victim of human trafficking would be targeted by a romantic partner or family member. It is also fairly common for human traffickers to use deception and psychological manipulation to lure victims into trafficking.

Sometimes victims are violently forced into trafficking, but it is more common that they are coerced into sex trafficking by subtle manipulation, threats of deportation, or some other legal consequence that places the victim in a compromising position.

Don’t assume that you are free from risk of human trafficking.

There are a number of ways you can keep yourself safe from trafficking:

• Always research solicitations for work. If you see an ad posted looking for employees and the company is unknown or lacks information, do some digging before responding to advertisements.

• If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Human traffickers will often pose as job recruiters offering large sums of money for simple jobs. Be extremely skeptical of offers like these and never meet with an unknown employer alone.

• Trust your gut. As mentioned before, sometimes people are coerced into sex trafficking by loved ones or other people they know. Human traffickers are also known to psychologically manipulate victims through extravagant gifts used as bargaining chips and means of guilting their victims into sex trafficking. If a partner or family member is pressuring you into engaging in sexual activity that you’re not comfortable with, speak out.

• Be aware of your online presence. Not everyone is who they present themselves to be online. If you receive any messages from people you don’t know, your safest bet is to not even respond. Especially if they ask to meet in person, you could be putting yourself at great risk. If someone talking to you online is a person you don’t already know in the real world, keep yourself safe and block the unknown user. When using dating websites and apps, be cautious when you meet people in person. Don’t give out your address to someone on an app. Meet them in public and wait until you’ve confirmed that they are trustworthy before offering any sensitive personal details.

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How You Can Help

Aside from keeping yourself safe, there are active measures you can take to address the global sex trafficking crisis.

Be informed about the signs of sex trafficking. According to The Polaris Project, these are a few common indicators that someone may be a victim of sex trafficking:

• The person is not free to leave or come and go at will
• The person is under 18 and providing commercial sex acts
• The person is in the commercial sex industry and has a pimp and/or manager
• The person is unpaid, paid very little, or paid only through tips
• The person works excessively long and/or unusual hours

Be on the lookout for any of these signs for people in your community.

Sex trafficking is often called modern-day slavery, an issue that many countries believed they had resolved centuries ago. As a society, it is our role to protect the vulnerable and exploited in the fight to bring an end to this crisis.

If you or someone you know has been involved in sex trafficking and you need help, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

You can also chat with our Hope Coaches who have been trained in recognizing and assisting those who are being trafficked.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

When it comes to your spiritual life, you may resist any mention of God or prayer. You may be thinking “If there is a God, why did this happen?’ Or “He must not be loving.” Perhaps you are angry at God or feel distant from Him. If any of those describe you, God can handle your thoughts and feelings. He can handle your anger and your doubts. Call out to Him. Tell Him everything you are feeling. He wants to hear from you even though He knows how you already feel. Just try it…give it to Him…all of it. Because here’s the truth, God did not want this for you. Let’s put the blame where it is due. It was the enemy, Satan, who stole from you and wanted to destroy you. It says in the Bible, The thief’s (Satan) purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My (God's) purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.(John 10:10 NLT)

Be honest but also ask God to reveal the truths you need to bring peace and healing to your soul. This can be a vital step in your overall healing. One of the many truths is through all of this pain you've experienced; God did not leave you. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:2)

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