Social workers who provide services to these victims indicate that feelings of isolation and abandonment are often reported but that the lack of a support network increases the vulnerability to trafficking. It is important to note that many teenage girls may be at risk of being recruited into the commercial sex industry simply by virtue of their normal maturation process. Wanting to take risks, feeling misunderstood by parents, and seeking romantic relationships can increase girls’ susceptibility to the recruitment tactics of sex traffickers or pimps. Findings also suggest that low self-esteem accompanies school failure for girls, and the resulting sense of a lack of self-worth may make them more vulnerable to recruitment.5
However, once a student is victimized, identifying him or her can prove difficult for a variety of reasons: (1) the student’s reluctance to disclose the problem due to a sense of shame and fear; (2) the stigma associated with forced prostitution; (3) the power and control of the trafficker’s seduction and manipulation; and (4) the student’s inability to recognize that he or she is a victim and, therefore, is unwilling to seek help.
Possible behavioral indicators of a child sex trafficking victim include, but are not limited to, the following:
an inability to attend school on a regular basis and/or unexplained absencesfrequently running away from homereferences made to frequent travel to other citiesbruises or other signs of physical trauma, withdrawn behavior, depression, anxiety, or fearlack of control over a personal schedule and/or identification or travel documentshunger, malnourishment, or inappropriate dress (based on weather conditions or surroundings)signs of drug addictioncoached or rehearsed responses to questionsa sudden change in attire, behavior, relationships, or material possessions (e.g., expensive items)uncharacteristic promiscuity and/or references to sexual situations or terminology beyond age-specific normsa “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” who is noticeably older and/or controllingan attempt to conceal scars, tattoos, or bruisesa sudden change in attention to personal hygienetattoos (a form of branding) displaying the name or moniker of a trafficker, such as “daddy”hyperarousal or symptoms of anger, panic, phobia, irritability, hyperactivity, frequent crying, temper tantrums, regressive behavior, and/or clinging behaviorhypoarousal or symptoms of daydreaming, inability to bond with others, inattention, forgetfulness, and/or shyness
Additional behavioral indicators for labor trafficking include the following:
being unpaid, paid very little, or paid only through tips being employed but not having a school-authorized work permit being employed and having a work permit but clearly working outside the permitted hours for students owing a large debt and being unable to pay it off not being allowed breaks at work or being subjected to excessively long work hours being overly concerned with pleasing an employer and/or deferring personal or educational decisions to a boss not being in control of his or her own money living with an employer or having an employer listed as a student’s caregiver a desire to quit a job but not being allowed to do so.
