Who can be a victim?
Anyone can be a victim, although there are
Human Trafficking:
A Global Crisis
A preventative guide to increase
community awareness and education
“Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and
involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to
obtain some type of labor or commercial sex
act.”
-Department of Homeland Security
We can prevent this!
Types of Slavery
There are many types of slavery that people
don’t know exist including:
• Forces labor (including children)
• Sex trafficking
• Forced marriage
• Organ trafficking
Unfortunately, society has helped create this
monstrous industry. The community has helped
create this issue due to a poor understanding of
the seriousness of human trafficking. Corrupt
politicians and traffickers are using this system
for gratification or monetary compensation.
Societal education is truly important to help
prevent this issue from becoming even more of
an apocalyptic event than it already is.
As we’ve seen throughout history, slavery has
been used to fuel different industries such as
agricultural, medical, food, clothing and sex
industries. Consumerism plays the biggest role in
slavery. This pamphlet will provide you with
education and prevention strategies you and
your community/workplace can use to increase
awareness to prevent slavery and become part
of the change.
populations that are at increased risk for
exploitation. Many of these populations include:
women, children, marginalized communities,
LGBTQ individuals, abuse victims, individuals
from low socioeconomic background, children in
foster care, runaways, immigrants, individuals in
unstable job markets, individuals with disabilities
and individuals subjected to natural disasters.
How are victims trafficked?
Traffickers can be both men and women who
transport, recruit, harbor, obtain, manipulate
and exploit vulnerable victims by using force,
threats, lies and coercion. They may use
emotional and physical tactics to identify and
gain the trust of their victims.
Polarisproject.org describes how traffickers can
work alone or in groups. They may target
individuals and make promises for a better life or
they trap their victims by fear with physical and
psychological threats to harm the individual or
their family.
Statistics
Human trafficking is a 32 billion dollar a year
industry, making it one of the largest crime
industries in the world. There are about 27
million human trafficking victims in the world
today. Sexual exploitation and forced labor are
the biggest contributors for funding.
Many people do not know that they are
contributing to the consumption of slavery.
Productsofslavery.org shows that labor slaves
are forced to produce products such as gold,
footwear, diamonds, cotton, clothing,
electronics, construction materials, food
products, tobacco, coffee and industrial
materials. These slaves work for hours on end
with minimal or no compensation and harsh
working conditions
Children can be sold by their parents in order to
fulfill their debt to others. They may not realize
the detrimental effects this has on the child
because they do not see what is being done out
of the public eye.
Polarisproject.org reports that in 2017 one in
seven endangered runaways were victims of sex
trafficking and 88% of those victims were in the
care of social services or foster care when they
ran away.
Forces marriage is something that still occurs
today, even in the U.S. The U.S. Department of
State reported that there are both male and
female victims forced into marriage with males
accounting for about 15 percent of victims.
Organ traffickers exploit both donors and
recipients. They use the donor’s desperation
through economic means and most recipients
are from wealthier counties that can afford to
pay for trafficked organs. Many recipients don’t
know their organs were illegally trafficked. The
United Nations Regional Information Centre for
Western Europe reports that kidneys are the
most trafficked organ. The Global Ethics Initiative
reports that in Pakistan a kidney can be sold for
50-60 thousand dollars. Poor countries like
Africa, South America, Asia and some Eastern
European countries tend to be the area for
donors and countries that are wealthier such as
the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and Canada are
recipient countries.
What can we do to prevent ourselves
from being trafficked?
There are several ways that we can prevent
trafficking. First, make sure you can defend
yourself and understand your surroundings.
Keep an eye out for people following you,
people trying to become friends for the wrong
intentions and make sure to keep your social
media interactions private to prevent
perpetrators from gaining access to information
about you. Recognize red flags including when
someone promises things that are too good to
be true, when someone expects you to take a
job right on the spot, when someone trying to
isolate you from communicating with others or
when someone asks you to do something
outside of your comfort zone. Watch out for
people who display dangerous characteristics
including jealousy, lashing out and other abusive
behaviors. They use these techniques for
coercion and manipulation.
Trust your own judgement. Never give out
personal information including your phone
number. Always lets a friend or family member
know if you ever feel that you could be in
danger. If you are in immediate danger call 911.
We can fight this corrupt industry together. Join
human trafficking prevention organizations or
clubs. Discuss the issue with your neighbors,
church organizations, schools and community
groups.
Some people may feel that this subject is taboo
and shouldn’t be discussed. Try to look at it
from a perspective of a victim and why you
would want to prevent it for yourself, your loved
ones or your community. Prevention is key and
we can be the ones to cause major change in
this world.
Myths
The National Human Trafficking Hotline
discusses several myths about human trafficking
that may surprise you.
1. Victims can only be foreign nationals.
• False. U.S. citizens and
immigrants are all affected.
2. Human trafficking requires that
traffickers move across state lines or
national borders.
• False. Trafficking does not require
transportation.
3. Human trafficking is the same as
smuggling.
• False. Smuggling is a crime
against borders of countries and
human trafficking is against each
individual person.
4. Trafficking is always done through
physical harm or restraint.
• False. Physical harm is not a
requirement for trafficking. They
can also use psychological
methods of control.
5. Victims will ask for help.
• False. Victims do on often ask for 10. All victims that are foreign nationals are
immediate help. They may be undocumented.
fearful and/or lack trust in the • False. There are many victims that
“system”. We never know what a are legally documented.
victim has been through and they
need time to regain trust in What steps to take if you or someone
others. you know has been trafficked?
6. Human trafficking always happens in
Call 911 as well as the National Trafficking
poverty stricken and rural areas.
Hotline at 1-888-373-788. This hotline gives you
• False. Poverty alone does not
the opportunity to report what’s happened,
always indicate that a person will
provides resources to connect to local services
become a victim. There are
including how to keep safe, shelter, mental
victims from a large range of
health, interpretation/ translation, nutrition,
income levels. Some victims come
transportation, education and job training as
from families of higher
well as legal assistance. You do not need to be a
socioeconomic class.
U.S. citizen to receive help, everyone can benefit
7. Sex trafficking is the only form of
from these services.
trafficking.
• False. As stated above, many of Who can help prevent these issues?
the forms of trafficking included:
sex trafficking, forced labor,
forced marriage and organ
trafficking.
8. Human trafficking only happens in
underground markets.
• False. Trafficking can also occur in
legal business such as spas,
restaurants, hotels and
manufacturing plants.
9. If a victim initially agreed to the Many of the choices that we make daily can
trafficking situation it is not considered contribute to slavery through the consumption
human trafficking. of products we purchase. Be more aware of the
• False. This consent does not make products you consume and where they come
the crime legal. from. Slaveryfootprint.org is a website that lets
you input your information and shows you how
many slaves you have working for you based on
the products you purchase. Being a
conscientious consumer can help prevent forced
labor.
We have many people in our community that
can help contribute to the education and
prevention of human trafficking. Political
officials, healthcare workers, teachers, state
workforce centers, law enforcement, church
leaders, students, Division of Child and Family
Services and other frontline groups can all be
advocates and prevent trafficking. Using the
information in this pamphlet these groups can
provide education to at risk populations.
Recognize the Signs
We need to provide resources and education
that these individuals can use to implement
strategies on prevention. First, they need to
recognize the signs of human trafficking victims.
Polarisproject.org provides several ways to
recognize the signs which include:
• Understanding a persons working/living
conditions (they can’t come/go at will,
they are under age and dating older
individuals, unpaid/paid very little for
work, unusually long work hours, they
live or work on site, they may experience
verbal/physical abuse by employer and
forced to meet daily quotas).
• The victims may have abnormal
behaviors or poor mental health
conditions.
• Poor hygiene habits and physical health.
• They have a lack control (own few items,
monitored by others frequently, not in
control of their own money, may not
have their own identification or may not
be allowed to speak for themselves).
• Unable to clearly state where they have
been staying/living.
• Inconsistent historian.
• Lost a sense of time.
These are just a few of the factors that can be
used to recognize possible signs of a human
trafficking victim although each victim should be
viewed individually in order to factor out if they
are truly a victim.
Prevention and Advocacy
Below are some ways that human trafficking can
be prevented including some tips some of which
are from the The U.S. Department of State:
• Recognizing signs of trafficking, which
were previously discussed.
• Report suspicions by calling 911 or the
National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-
888-373-7888.
• Be a conscientious consumer.
Understand where you get your products
and who makes them. Understanding the
supply chain can help prevent trafficking.
• Advocate for prevention in your local
community.
• Get involved with local, state and federal
officials.
• Hold fundraisers and donate funds to
human trafficking prevention
organizations.
• Be aware of current trafficking news.
• Advocate and educate with religious
communities to spread awareness.
• Businesses should provide skilled training
to employees with aforementioned
information and educational
opportunities to prevent trafficking as
well as provide information for trafficking
victims.
• Join local clubs/organization or create
your own club/organization to raise
awareness.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services has a program called “Look Beneath the
Surface Regional Anti-Trafficking Program” that
provides information on trafficking in
geographical areas, resources for individuals
who have been trafficked, prevention tips, help
from local professionals and organizations that
can provide assistance to victims and other
resources to facilitate community awareness.

Frontline advocates need to be able to identify
human trafficking factors and use their
knowledge gained in training to provide
education to at risk populations.
Start a program that trains new individuals in the
workplace, church settings, government and
state offices as well as in your own
neighborhood. We need diversity on who
educates the public and how educational
materials are distributed. We can print out this
pamphlet, source it digitally on social media as
well as send it by email. The prevention and
advocacy strategies previously mentioned can
help diversify prevention and education and how
it is provided to the public. The U.S Department
of State provides many of these
recommendations and resources because they
have been known to help prevent trafficking.
Many people do not realize the seriousness of
the issue due to the industry being “hidden”
from the public eye. When you begin to
understand the importance of educating yourself
and preventing human trafficking, you’ll
understand that those small steps will help
prevent this industry from continuing to rapidly
grow. As a community we need can’t expect
other people to step and make these changes. It
is something that everyone needs to be a part
of. This horrendous crime can be prevented. We
can help save our society from being overtaken
by slavery and wrongful political and personal
agenda.
About the Author
My name is Rachel Melton. I am currently a
college student at Salt Lake Community College.
In my English class I was required to write an
apocalyptic survival guide on a political or
cultural issue. I chose human trafficking because
it is such a large industry that most people don’t
even know exist that is causing major havoc in
this world. I initially was going to create a
fictional story and provide a guide on how to
help people survive a hypothetical human
trafficking apocalypse. Why would I need to
write a “hypothetical” story? It is not
hypothetical, it is happening right under our
noses.
I wanted to create a guide that could actually be
implemented to increase awareness and prevent
human trafficking. I wanted a guide that could
help people prevent themselves and their loved
ones from being in a situation where they could
be trafficked. I also wanted to provide resources
for the community as well as state and
government workers so they can become
advocates and community educators in
prevention.
I am part of several local human trafficking
organizations that help with prevention,
community awareness, rescues and
apprehension of traffickers. I am truly happy to
be able to share this information with you and to
help you understand the importance of this
underground industry.
People will always find ways to exploit others
into slavery. If we choose not to prevent the
issue from getting worse, not only as a
community but our world as a whole could
potentially be controlled by slave trades. We can
use these strategies provided in this
informational pamphlet to prevent trafficking
and develop new ideas as times change.
Prevention is lifelong and we can be the ones to
stop it!
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