Safe Ops

Human Trafficking

Exploitation Defined

Human trafficking is a serious violation of human rights, involving the exploitation of people through force, fraud, or coercion for labor or commercial sex. In the United States, this crime affects thousands annually, cutting across age, gender, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Understanding its scope, recognizing its signs, and knowing how to respond are important steps toward eliminating this evil.

Sex Trafficking

Sex Trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for a commercial sex act, induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or when the person pressured to perform that act is under 18 years old.

Labor Trafficking

Labor Trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for subjection to involuntary servitude, debt bondage, or slavery.

Red Flags

Behavioral

Appears fearful, anxious, or overly submissive.
Avoids eye contact or seems withdrawn.
Uses rehearsed or scripted responses; may not speak for themselves.
Shows signs of trauma, depression, or distress.

Physical

Unexplained injuries, signs of abuse, or malnourishment.
Poor hygiene or lack of access to medical care.
Tattoos or markings that suggest ownership.
Untreated illnesses, sexually transmitted infections, or repeated pregnancies under suspicious circumstances.

Social

Restricted movement; rarely allowed to leave home or workplace.
Isolated from family, friends, or social support.
Constantly monitored or controlled.
Fearful of law enforcement or social services.
Lives or works with a controlling person or a group.

Work

Works long hours with little or no pay.
Finances or personal documents are controlled by someone else.
Vague job description, frequent suspicious job changes, or pressured to pay off debts.
Social media accounts managed by someone else; pressured to post sexualized content.
Recruitment through “too good to be true” jobs, modeling, or travel offers.

at safe ops, we do more than fight human trafficking; we illuminate the darkness and expose the truth. freedom isn't just a hope, It's a battle we refuse to lose.