For many years, human
trafficking trainings have focused on
teaching people about the "signs" or
"indicators" of trafficking. These might
be things like a person looking
disheveled, upset or scared.
But, as we've learned more about how
trafficking really works, we have
also learned that in many cases
there isn't going to be anything
visible that would alert you that
a stranger is being trafficked.
And in fact, there are some
downsides to trying to spot trafficking
situations out of context.
Hint: that word context is key.
One of the downsides is misidentification.
Implicit bias has led many
to believe that traffickers are
typically of a specific race or ethnicity.
That's not the case.
Even if you do identify someone
who actually is in a trafficking
situation, there is harm that could
come of reporting it without
their knowledge or consent.
Remember, many people being trafficked
do not recognize themselves as
being victims. They believe they
have made their own choices and
telling them otherwise, if they
are not ready to hear it, may
make their traffickers' hold even stronger.
Instead of visual cues,
we have learned that the best
way to help is by paying
attention to the people you actually
know or interact with.
It's about having some degree of both
proximity and context.
Having proximity and context does not mean
you have to be extremely close with someone.
You don't need to know
every single detail of what is happening.
But, some relationship
to the potential victim or
trafficker, even in passing, coupled
with your knowledge of how human
trafficking actually works makes a huge
difference in determining how much you
are able to help.
Understanding trafficking within the context
of your job is particularly useful.
For example, teachers, medical
professionals or truckers may encounter
trafficking victims through their work.
Here's an example of how proximity
and context might look in practice.
Jim visits a restaurant in
his neighborhood once a week.
He exchanges pleasantries with the
hosts, servers, and some of the
busboys who all recognize him
as a regular customer.
But, Jim doesn't know much about
their work conditions or lives
outside the restaurant.
Jim has proximity,
but he does not have context.
Anna works part time as
a host at the restaurant and
her shifts change every week.
On busy nights, she also
helps out by taking drink orders
and delivering meals to tables.
She has noticed that the same
workers are in the kitchen every
time she works - although
her work days and hours vary.
Some of the kitchen staff have
told her they don't always get paid.
They have mentioned that
some are undocumented and
the owner has threatened to report
them if they complain.
Anna has both proximity and context.
This puts her in a good
position to offer assistance.