WARNING SIGNS of TRAFFICKING

REMOVE YOUR ONLINE IMAGES

Having nudes online is scary, but there is hope to “Take It Down” using this app from
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

INTERNET and SEX TRAFFICKING

WARNING SIGNS: Children 

Children believe there is no problem surfing and befriending anyone who asks or who wants to play games online with them. Predators know this and, to mislead everyone, they use false identities, may change their sex claiming to be a young male when they are instead an older female, use anonymous pictures like a pet or favorite animal or flower, send postings claiming they sympathize with whatever problems their targeted child has posted, and/or that they too “love” whatever activities the child has announced they are “in to.”   

Children communicating with an online predator and who are listening to their advice may:

• Withdraw from family and friends
• Get upset when they cannot be online
• Become secretive or obsessive about online activity
• Change screens / turn off computer when someone enters the room
• Download and watch pornography
• Regularly upload sexualized photos / videos
• Won’t tell who is receiving their uploaded pictures / videos
• Arrange to meet their online ‘friend’ in a public place and they tell you about it
• Leave / sneak out of the house at odd hours

WARNING SIGNS: Online Predator

• Praises every post you make
• Claims to be involved in the same activities as you
• Claims to ‘love’ the same things as you: same music, animals, colors, same famous people
• Always agrees/concurs with your thoughts about issues you care about
• Encourages you to trust them instead of your friends and/or parents
• Claims to love you
• Wants you to keep secrets between you and them, to not tell anyone about “you and them”
• Asks for/pressures you for nude photos once they feel they have your confidence
• Starts to make you feel guilty if you do not share ‘every part of you’ with them, says you don’t love them enough and hints that you will loose them
• Once you provide nude images they become threatening, say they will share what you gave already with all of your friends unless you give them more
• May insist on money instead of more images
• May insist on an in-person meet-up “to see if you are really who you say you are”
• Starts blaming you for the break-up of your ‘relationship’

SEX TRAFFICKING

WARNING SIGNS: Victims 

• Unexplained absence from class
• Overly tired in class/at home
• Less appropriately dressed than before
• Sexualized behavior improper for age
• Brags to friends about making/having a lot of money
• New displays of expensive clothes/accessories/shoes
• Significantly older boyfriend/girlfriend – for both girls and boys, all combinations
• Talks about wild parties/invites other students to attend parties
• New friends with a different lifestyle
• Appears withdrawn/depressed/distracted/‘checked out’/rebellious
• Signs of trauma: physical/mental
• Signs of physical abuse: burn marks/bruises/cuts
• Specially marked/new tattoos (a name, symbol of money, barcode)

WARNING SIGNS: Trafficker/Pimp 

• Excessively jealous/controlling/moody/violent
• Significantly older than their young companion
• Promises things too good to be true
• Encourages victim’s engagement in illegal activities [to achieve goals/dreams]
• Buys expensive gifts/owns expensive items/very open about financial matters
• Vague about his/her profession
• Encourages inappropriate sexual behavior/pushy or demanding about sex
• Makes the victim feel responsible for his/her own financial stability
• Member of organized crime, gangs
• Trusted positions with corrupt people
• Diplomatic personnel

FOSTER CARE and SEX TRAFFICKING

WARNING SIGNS: Youth Experiencing Sexual Exploitation within Foster Care

Listen to the Child, Listen to the Youth –
GIVE THEM THEIR VOICE

• Child is subdued, devalued, silenced; especially if by the caregiver
  • They have been told, “You should be grateful for a home, grateful that I took you in.”
• Child is hypervigilant, feels they don’t belong
• Child becomes fearful: of environment, of people, of losing their home
• Child’s voice and behavior may become loud and rebellious (a backlash for the silencing)
• Persistent telling of lies; taught to them when the truth was/is silenced, especially when talking about an abusive family member
• Repeated ‘leaving’ from their placement home; many underlying “Push-Pull” factors
  • Youth living in office buildings, on the streets, couch surfing – basic needs are not met = enhanced vulnerabilities, feelings of non-worth, being ‘defective’, friends are all the wrong people
• Children threatening parents if they look at their phones
• Foster youth refusing to participate in family activities = increased vulnerabilities for youth
• Find stilettos, false eyelashes, Gucci bags, etc. in children’s closets

LANGUAGE DOs and DON’Ts 

Take care to not label Children and Youth in damaging ways.

• Use the expressions, “Youth experiencing commercial sexual exploitation.” or “Youth experiencing the foster care system.”
  • Helps to avoid pigeon-holing them as victims
  • Emphasizes their value as a human being
  • Be aware of your ‘own bias or balance’ about where the youth is coming from or what they have experienced
  • Avoid using “AWOLing,” for youth who have left their placement
    • AWOL implies either  ‘youth choice’ or ‘youth rebellion’
    • They may be running from abuse
    • They may have just needed a break
      • Having two families who care for them is one way to support them when everyone needs a break

For the FAMILY and FRIENDS of YOUTH EXPERIENCING SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

• Don’t be afraid to tell a family their child is in trafficking
  • The Bio family and/or the Foster Family may
    • Deny the possibility
    • Be offended you would believe such a thing about their child/foster child
    • Be embarrassed they were lied to and didn’t notice
  • Yes, it will probably end your relationship with them, but… 

YOU WILL SAVE A LIFE

Trauma-based training for Foster parents, Foster families, and BIO families is necessary to truly care for children and youth who have experience with sexual exploitation and/or sex trafficking.

Foster Care Sources: Speakers for the Wisdom International community event
“The Nexus Between Foster Care and Sex Trafficking,” 2022.01

For more information or for referrals, please contact us at Wisdom International.

WARNING SIGNS: click for our LABOR TRAFFICKING page

PREVENTION BEFORE HARM

starts with knowing the Warning Signs.

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