When people hear the phrase ‘sex trafficking,’ they may imagine a stranger kidnapping someone and locking them away in a dark room.
Although those scenarios certainly occur, many sex trafficking victims do not initially know they are being trafficked.
It often begins gradually.
A romantic relationship forms, and over time there begins to be an accumulation of asks. Hey, we really need to pay rent, the trafficker says to the victim. I know a way that we can do that. If the victim pushes back, the trafficker guilts them into it, asking, You want to stay with me, right? You love me, right?
The victim thinks they must do what they can for the person they love — work together as a team to get the rent paid or whatever the trafficker asks. The lines become blurred, and the steaks get higher.
“In North Texas, the top way people are recruited into trafficking is through romantic relationships,” said Paola Chavez Reyes, the outreach and training program director at trafficking advocacy nonprofit Unbound Now.
“Once a person says ‘no’ for the first time, or says they don’t want to do this anymore, that’s where it can become more forceful,” Reyes explained to The Dallas Express. “More abuse, more physical abuse, more coercion.”
Reyes says the nature in which those relationships begin and build over time is what makes it so hard for someone to know they’re being trafficked.
Traffickers hunt for unmet needs and desires in potential victims, Reyes explained.
“If someone needs a safe place to sleep at night, the trafficker will say, ‘I have a place that you can stay, but in order to provide you this place, there’s something I need you to do in return,'” Reyes said.
The same goes for food, connection, friendship, love, or any unmet need and desire that puts someone in a vulnerable space. Additionally, adverse childhood or life experiences also make someone more vulnerable to being trafficked.
Youths who are in foster care and lack a feeling of connection or safety are especially open to attack. A March 2022 survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed that 40% of surveyed youth in the foster system experienced trafficking before the age of 18, the majority being sex trafficked. Nearly 13% of youth reported that leaving a caregiver’s home by running away or being kicked out led to their first sex trafficking experience. Additionally, 16% of those who experienced trafficking said they had nobody to talk to about their problems.
Texas is notorious for its foster care system. In April, a U.S. District Judge ruled that the State of Texas must pay $100,000 in fines daily over its apparent failure to investigate reports of abuse and neglect of children in its foster care system. This was the second time Texas was ruled this fine.
“People want to go to college, and traffickers say, ‘I know a way that you can pay through college.’ People have dreams to become actors, models and musicians, and the trafficker says, ‘I can make that happen,'” explained Reyes. “At the end of the day, it’s a lie. It’s a trick. It’s a recruitment tactic.”
If someone is unaware that they are being trafficked or feels as if they have zero support, it is significantly harder for these victims to get help. This is why communities must have proper education about trafficking.
While it is rare to identify somebody in public who is being trafficked without speaking to them, people can still make an effort to reduce trafficking in their communities.
“I think one of the things that community members should really focus on to address human trafficking is how they can meet needs and desires in their community,” said Reyes. “Do they have a group that is putting on a food drive, a toy drive, or something that meets these needs? Then somebody healthy and safe meets those needs, instead of somebody who is unsafe.”
It all comes down to being aware of how trafficking begins in order to end it.
To take action, participate in training, or volunteer, contact Unbound Now.