Human Trafficking Awareness Month
If you are reading this, you most likely already have a connection to, an interest in, or some knowledge about domestic and sexual violence. And if that is true, then you may have heard that domestic and sexual violence take root in the exertion of power and control over another person—controlling finances, freedoms, or relationships, abusing physical and emotional power through violence, etc.
Well, let’s think about other situations when force, coercion, and fraud are used to gain power and control over another. How about when convincing a runaway teen to earn money through sexual exploitation? Selling an unknowing child via illicit photos taken during “a secret game”? Using chemical dependence as a way to sidestep consent over and again? Or promising wages but never paying to keep the worker trapped? Grooming vulnerable youth to gain trust then sharing that youth sexually with friends?
Domestic and sexual violence are often difficult to distinguish from commercial sexual exploitation, or sex trafficking. The power and control dynamics can look the same. The cyclical nature of the abusive relationship can look similar. The force, coercion, and fraud used by perpetrators are mirror images. And the impacts on victims can be profoundly paralleled.
So we ask ourselves, “What should I be watching for to avoid this violence?” And the list we make of warning signs for domestic violence relationships, sexually abusive encounters, and human trafficking will have all of these in common:
Grooming: So much has been said already on the topic of grooming that we won’t belabor it here, but will make the point that grooming can happen at any age. Being won over by affection, promises, presents, and special treatment from the start is not a uniquely childhood experience. If special treatment goes too far, if the level of giving is not sustainable, or if the groomer starts to push boundaries and test vulnerabilities, be wary.
Isolation: As a warning sign, isolation is tricky, because perpetrators of sexual violence and trafficking are looking for those that are already isolated to isolate them further from their friends and family. This is why runaways are at a particularly high risk. Watch for those teens and adults that seem always alone, because they may be targeted. And watch for those who used to have a support system that is quickly dwindling away.
Big Offers Early On: In domestic violence, this may look like wanting to move in together after 2 weeks or talking about marriage by the third date or getting pregnant only a few months in. For child sexual abuse, this can look like promising a child “the world”, anything and everything the child may wish for right from the jump—a scholarship, a way to move out, money, toys, … For trafficking, the offer may be a better life, tons of money, excitement, a way out, a marriage, a happy life. Really the possibilities abound and overlap, but if something seems too good to be true it just might be.
Hints of Violence: Most of us wouldn’t willing go with someone who slaps us on first meeting, but would we run scared if someone just tells a funny story about getting into a bar fight? Though slamming a door, screaming at a dog, road raging, punching a wall, etc. may not seem like violence, since they aren’t directly harming anyone, these displays of mismanaged anger should set off all our alarm bells. This behavior may be a way to plant the seed that the perpetrator is capable of violence leaving the victim scared or it may be a glimpse into the violent tendencies over which the perpetrator exercises little control. Either way, if violence is on the table, then the next course may be physical abuse, sexual assault, or human trafficking.
January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. At Mutual Ground, we recognize that trafficking is intrinsically linked to domestic and sexual violence. We can raise awareness and help prevent future abuse, assault, and trafficking by learning what to watch for, educating those around us, and speaking out.
Written By
Samantha Hoover, MA, LCPC, CDVP
Clinical Manager, Family Services Department at Mutual Ground