It is widely estimated that only 1% of survivors of human trafficking will ever be identified (Safe House Project). And even of that 1% who are identified, not all will receive the care they so desperately need.
What could possibly be impacting our identification so drastically?
The first obstacle is the misconception of what trafficking is and how it takes place here in the United States. Specifically, sex trafficking is painted in media to be one type of trafficking, known as guerilla trafficking. Guerilla trafficking starts with a violent crime, such as a kidnapping, assault, drugging, or other horrific acts. It is the example we see in movies such as Taken. While this trafficking does occur, it is not a common form of trafficking in the United States. Because only one form of trafficking is represented in the media, most of society misunderstands what constitutes trafficking. As a result, many survivors don’t even realize they are being trafficking, because their story has not been represented. Additionally, those who witness under-represented types of trafficking don’t recognize what is taking place and therefore don’t report it.
Take for example a real-life example of a young woman who was given drugs “for free.” After she had used those drugs, the person who provided them came back and threatened her with force if she didn’t send nude photos to “cover the cost of the drugs” she utilized. Feeling no other option than to give in, she sent him the nude photographs. This is an actual example of sex trafficking by fraud, but she was unaware that was what was happening to her.
Another significant issue affecting our identification of trafficking is the impact of the grooming process. The grooming process is nearly always part of the process that a trafficker uses to prepare their target for trafficking. Through this process they create a sense of love and loyalty between themselves and a vulnerable person. They also isolate the vulnerable person during this process, making them dependent on the exploitive person. (To learn more about this process, read our past blog post ‘Why Doesn’t She Just Leave’ here.). The grooming process not only takes away someone’s ability to leave the exploitive relationship but also leads to manipulation and normalization of the abuse that is occurring. Exploiters will use manipulative language to redefine a situation. A trafficker may tell someone they are “playing nice with the landlord” to avoid eviction – just this one time, when the reality is that they are forcibly taking nude photos under using the threat of eviction as coercion, and that is a form of trafficking.
This kind of manipulation and normalization of abuse can cause vulnerable people to misidentify their experience. Many trafficking survivors will identify their experience as something else, such as domestic violence, sexual abuse, using their body to get what they want, providing for them and their family, a family business, and more. At RAHAB, we serve a lot of women who do not personally identify as trafficking survivors, but in hearing their stories, it is clear that some form of sex trafficking has likely occurred.
For instance, a woman was sharing about a past abusive relationship. She explained that their boyfriend would drive everywhere they went, making her reliant on him for transportation. However, every time he had to drive her to work or home, he would use different types of threats and coercion and not let her leave until she provided the sex act he wanted. Though she understood this to be an abusive relationship, she did not understand it to be a situation of sex trafficking, but this is another example of sex trafficking.
All these factors of misrepresentation in media, impact of grooming, isolation and manipulation are just some of the many reasons that sex trafficking is incredibly hard to identify, by the one being victimized, or from a clinical and legal stance. And the sad reality is that if someone is never identified as a survivor of human trafficking, they will likely never receive the proper care and healing they need.
This is why RAHAB is committed to Outreach. Through this program, teams of staff and volunteers go to the streets, strip clubs, and jails to meet unidentified survivors. These teams connect and hear their stories. Instead of waiting for them to identify their own trafficking and seek services, which may never happen, we will go where she is to offer care and support whether or not she identifies as being trafficked. It’s also why the RAHAB Drop-In Homes don’t require women to fill out an application, provide a referral, or qualify in any way. We want to reduce barriers between women experiencing any form of exploitation and the help she needs. By providing this open-door service, we can meet women, provide for their basic needs, and build healing relationships, regardless of what terms she uses to describe her story.
When you support RAHAB, you are helping reach unidentified survivors with love and care. When you support RAHAB, you provide her with the support structure she needs to take steps toward freedom. To support more unidentified survivors, make a donation today at rahab-ministries.org/give.