Just as most child
sexual abuse is inflicted by someone a child knows, most people are trafficked
by someone they know rather than by complete strangers. Individuals may be trafficked
by their peers, older friends, family acquaintances, parents, siblings, or
other family members. Trafficking victims may exhibit one or more of the following
signs:
- "Branding" - marks, such as tattoos, often placed on the neck, arm, collarbone, or similar area
- Physical signs of abuse
- Working strange hours, particularly late at nigh or very early in the morning
- Signs of exhaustion - People who are trafficked may be kept awake at all hours of the night
- New look - Traffickers may purchase haircuts and color, manicures, and/or new clothes to alter the appearance or provide incentives for the victims
- No control of personal assets
- Frequent absences from work or school
- Spending significant time online and/or on their phone to be in constant communication with their traffickers or clients
- Uses language associated with "the game"
- Has a controlling significant other
- Has a much older significant other
- Has hotel cards, false IDs, cash cards, condoms, multiple phones, scraps of paper with personal information and prices
- Tells inconsistent stories and explanations
