Learn About the Growing Crisis.

Sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and abuse is happening all around us. It may be happening in your neighborhood, sometimes hidden in plain sight. The signs may be so small that we hardly notice them or sadly overlook them. But if we pay more attention to those subtle red flags, we could be the change in that survivor’s life.

Anyone can be trafficked or exploited. Traffickers prey on the vulnerabilities of their targets. Which then turns into coercion, manipulation, abuse, isolation, and control. Traffickers are usually friends, romantic partners, or family members.

Most people don’t realize what's happening behind the scenes with these survivors. Many times, it may appear like they are rebellious teenagers/children who struggle with things such as mental health, impulsive/risky behavior, or substance use. While that may be the case, sometimes there's more to the story.

A sex trafficker’s goal is to scare you enough to continue working for them or make you reliant on them so you believe you will never be anything without them. Over time, it seems impossible to escape, and you start to believe all the lies and deceit — for years, I did.

Traffickers can keep their victims trapped and under control by using:

• Fear and intimidation

• Threats against them and their family

• Drug dependency

• Extreme emotional highs and lows that cause “trauma bonding”

• Manipulation in the form of mental, emotional, verbal, or physical abuse