Every human trafficking situation is unique. Self-identification as a trafficking victim or survivor can happen along a continuum and in a variety of different ways. More often than not, the tip or report to law enforcement comes from an outside source, rather than the victim self-identifying to law enforcement.
Lack of Basic Necessities
Some people stay in trafficking situations for the same reason people become victims of human trafficking: they need basic necessities. They may lack the basic things they need to get out of an exploitative situation, including transportation, food, money, and a safe place to live. Traffickers obtain most if not all monetary gain from their victims and force them into a situation where they feel helpless to leave as they would be stripped of basic necessities if they did.
Trauma and Manipulation
Traffickers leverage their victims’ needs and vulnerabilities in order to impose near-absolute control on their lives. As a result, victims become trapped and fear leaving for myriad reasons. Victims experience fear, isolation, guilt, shame, misplaced loyalty, and expert manipulation, all of which may keep them from seeking help or identifying as a victim even if they are being actively trafficked.
Traffickers employ a variety of control tactics including physical and emotional abuse, psychological manipulation, threats including those of violence, isolating victims from friends and family, and economic abuse. Some victims have been so intensely psychologically manipulated that they do not identify at that point as being under the control of another person or even being trafficked. This is often referred to as Stockholm syndrome.
Some traffickers' control tactics are so extensive that they may create a situation where the victim is unfamiliar with their surroundings or the language used in the location they are trafficked. This is true especially in cases where a victim’s Visa or other personal identification has been taken away; these circumstances further prevent the victim’s escape.
Traffickers also have been known to utilize an inside observer if they have many victims. They recruit one of their victims to watch over the rest of the group to ensure escape is not discussed or attempted. They create a sense of fear and mistrust to effectively do so; this enables a long-term sense of assurance that the victims will not attempt to leave the trafficker.
Criminalization
Particularly in the past, we’ve seen law enforcement, other professionals, and the general public treating victims of sex trafficking as criminals through their use of language such as referring to a victim as a prostitute or describing her experience as a form of prostitution or child prostitution. Why would a victim want to come forward when they don’t think it’s likely they will get the help and support that they both need and deserve? Criminalizing victims is no way to support victims in self-identification. Especially given the psychological trauma victims experience, they may rationalize that their circumstance being trafficked is better than what they could endure if they were to come forward to law enforcement.
Thankfully, in recent years we have seen a shift to a more victim-centered approach in the criminal justice system, to prioritize the victim’s needs. This includes incorporating more service providers and victim advocates in human trafficking investigations to ensure that the victim’s well-being is truly being prioritized. To learn more about victim-centered policing, check out our blog, Why is Victim-Centered Policing Important in Human Trafficking Cases?
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