Sex Trafficking: Information and Resources

At Safeline while working with survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, we sometimes find that those survivors have also experienced sex trafficking. In early April, human trafficking advocates gave an informative presentation at our Orange County Domestic Violence Task Force meeting to share more about this serious issue. In order to spread the word, our Safeline advocates are sharing this crucial information about sex trafficking.

So what are we talking about when we say “sex trafficking”? As defined by the National Human Trafficking Hotline (1), sex trafficking is when:

 “…individuals perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Minors under the age of 18 engaging in commercial sex are considered to be victims of human trafficking, regardless of the use of force, fraud, or coercion.”

Breaking down this definition, commercial sex is when a person has sex where anything of value is promised to them in return for the sexual act (2). Notably this includes more than just money. A person may be offered shelter, drugs, a new phone, clothing, or anything else that is of value to them. This payment is just a promise and so the person being trafficked may not receive that payment.

Now let’s take a look at the terms “force, fraud, and coercion”. According to Give Way to Freedom (3):

• Force: Includes physical assault, sexual assault and rape, keeping people confined, depriving of basic needs like food and water, forcing them to use drugs, and any way people might control a person physically

• Fraud: May include tactics like withholding someone’s pay or wages, using fake employee contracts, and manipulating them with false promises. These false promises may be of love, marriage, education, employment, improved living conditions, or anything else that the person who is being trafficked wants

  
  

• Coercion: May include threats of physical harm (to the person being trafficked or their loved ones, pets, or property), threats of arrest, threats of deportation, or threats to report the survivor to DCF. A trafficker may also withhold legal documents from the person, blackmail them, lock them in with real or perceived debt, or use any other strategies to manipulate the person into making them feel stuck. These psychological tactics may prevent the person from seeking help. At the same time the trafficker may provide love, attention, gifts, or other means to make the person feel valued and wanted so that they stay with the trafficker

In Vermont the age of consent is 16, therefor minors younger than 16 cannot consent to sexual activity in the state of Vermont. Children involved in the commercial sex trade are always considered to be experiencing sex trafficking.

This short video, produced by Give Way to Freedom, offers an introduction into how sex trafficking and coercion can look and evolve over time.

Traffickers may be strangers or employers, but often traffickers may be family members, romantic partners, or parents of the person being trafficked. Because traffickers know these people intimately, they are able to use their knowledge to manipulating the person based on their unique fears and desires. Often traffickers prey on people with a troubled past or who have few support systems in place. People of any gender identity can experience sex trafficking.

Sex trafficking cases are complicated. People being trafficked may be involved with the police and legal system. Some of the patterns of power and control used by traffickers include forced criminality: making the survivor use drugs, steal, or commit a crime in another way, to ensure that the trafficker is able to maintain control over the survivor.

To learn more about common examples of sex trafficking, visit the Polaris Project website (4). There are resources available to support survivors of sex trafficking. Advocates can provide resources, support, and education tailored to each survivor’s unique situation:

• To report sex trafficking, or other human trafficking, in the state of Vermont, contact 211 and ask to be connected with Give Way to Freedom

• You can also contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888-373-7888)

• To report sex trafficking of minors in Vermont, contact 1-800-649-5285

• You can also reach out to our Safeline advocates via email (safelineinfo@safelinevt.org) or our 24/7 confidential hotline number: 1-800-639-7233 (1-800-NEW-SAFE)

References

1.      National Human Trafficking Hotline, “Sex Trafficking”. https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/human-trafficking/sex-trafficking

2.      Vermont General Assembly, “The Vermont Statutes Online: Title 13: Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Chapter 60: Human Trafficking, Subchapter 1: CRIMINAL ACTS, § 2651. Definitions”. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/13/060

3.      Give Way to Freedom, Task Force Presentation. https://givewaytofreedom.org/human-trafficking/

4.      Polaris Project, “Sex Trafficking Examples”. https://polarisproject.org/sex-trafficking-examples/