Resources

Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is the illegal exploitation of people through force, fraud, or coercion for purposes like forced labor or sexual exploitation. Traffickers often prey on vulnerable people using threats or violence to control them.

Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking is when people are
forced or manipulated into sex acts against their will, often for prostitution or pornography. Traffickers use threats or violence to control victims and profit from their exploitation. It’s a serious crime and human rights violation.

Forced Labor

Forced labor trafficking is when
people are forced to work against their
will under threats or manipulation. Victims often work in poor conditions with little pay and are controlled through violence or deceit. This can happen in industries
like farming, construction, or
domestic work.

Domestic Servitude

Domestic servitude is when people are forced to work in homes, doing tasks like cleaning or childcare, under abusive conditions. Victims are often mistreated, paid little or nothing, and controlled through threats or violence.

False Job Advertisement

False job ads are used by traffickers to lure victims with fake offers of work, only to exploit them through forced labor or sex.

Types of Trafficking

Types of Trafficking

Begging Rings

Begging rings involve traffickers forcing people to beg and take the money they collect, often using threats or abuse to control them.

Organ Removal

Organ removal trafficking involves the illegal trade of human organs, where traffickers forcibly or deceitfully remove organs from victims to sell them on the black market.

Sold By Family

Sold by family trafficking occurs when a person, often a child, is sold or exploited by their own family members. The family may sell them into forced labor, sexual exploitation, or other forms of abuse for money or other benefits.

False Immigration

False immigration trafficking involves traffickers promising victims help with immigration, such as fake job offers or visas, but instead exploiting them once they arrive. Victims are often forced into labor or sexual exploitation, with their freedom and documents controlled by traffickers.

Abduction

Abduction trafficking occurs when traffickers forcibly kidnap individuals to exploit them for labor, sex, or other forms of abuse. Victims are often held against their will and controlled through threats or violence.

It is the “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a person, by means of the threat of use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.” Exploitation includes sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, servitude, or the removal of organs.

Technical Definition

Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act. Sex trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. Sex traffickers frequently groom victims and then use violence, threats, lies, false promises, debt bondage, or other forms of control and manipulation to prevent victims from leaving.

Victims of sex trafficking can be anywhere. Some will work the streets or in establishments that offer commercial sex acts (brothels, strip clubs, pornography industry). Some operate under the guise of massage parlors, modeling agencies, strip clubs, etc.

  • False Job Advertisement
  • Sold By Family
  • False boyfriend
  • Abduction
  • Trafficked by friend
  • False Immigration
  • Forced Marriages

Direct Services

Each year, countless individuals, including men, women, and children, are trafficked worldwide each year, with the United States being no exception. Human trafficking is a highly lucrative criminal enterprise, generating billions in profits annually, ranking second only to drug trafficking.

This crime remains largely concealed, as victims often hesitate to seek assistance due to language barriers, fear of traffickers, or concerns about law enforcement.

Traffickers employ various tactics, such as force, deception, or coercion, to ensnare their victims into labor or sexual exploitation. Vulnerabilities, including psychological, emotional, or economic factors, make individuals susceptible to exploitation. Victims may not recognize themselves as such or seek help due to the severe trauma inflicted by traffickers.

Dispelling myths and misconceptions is crucial. Identifying indicators of human trafficking is the initial step in recognizing victims and potentially saving lives. However, not all signs may be present, and their absence doesn’t negate the possibility of trafficking. Priority must be placed on public and victim safety. Direct confrontation with suspected traffickers or notifying victims of suspicions should be avoided. Law enforcement should handle the investigation of suspected cases.

NATIONAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING HOTLINE: 1-888-373-7888

Report Human Trafficking by calling the Florida Human Trafficking Hotline

1-855-FLA-SAFE   (1-855-352-7233)

Southwest Florida Human Trafficking

https://swflhumantrafficking.org/

Resource Guide: https://swflhumantrafficking.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/human-trafficking-resource-manual.pdf

Regional Partners: https://swflhumantrafficking.org/regionalpartners/

Survive and Thrive

https://surviveandthriveadvocacy.org/human-traffickers-profit-off-southwest-florida-hotel-
rooms-wink-news

Collier County

https://www.colliersheriff.org/my-ccso/investigations-department/special-crimes-bureau/exploitation-section/human
-trafficking-resources

Collier County Homeless Coalition

https://collierhomelesscoalition.org/

Lee County

Lee County Homeless Coalition https://leehomeless.org/

Lee County Gov https://www.leegov.com/dhs/assistance/homeless

United Way https://unitedwaylee.org/

The Rock https://therockcoalition.org/

Charlotte County

Charlotte County Homeless Coalition: https://www.cchomelesscoalition.org/

Rise 4 Me: https://www.rise4me.com/resources/charlotte-county-homeless-coalition/

Food Pantries: https://www.charlottecountyfl.gov/core/fileparse.php/451/urlt/food-pantries-donation-list.pdf

  • Did you know that your child’s cell phone is set by default to allow pornography, explicit content and that even Siri can be a portal to predators and dangerous content on the web? Check out how you can set parental control on your iPhone or Android.
  • Photos taken and posted can also automatically contain “geotags” which can help predators track and locate your children. Click here to learn how to remove geotag settings.
  • Frontier’s Parental Controls Guide for a step by step breakdown of how to set up controls on video games, your browsers and more.
  • It’s important to talk to your children often and consistently about how to stay safe. But how you do have effective conversations, from which children absorb valuable information that they may need later? Make sure the information you deliver is easily understood for your child’s stage of development.
  • For resources to discuss healthy relationships with your child, check out www.joinonelove.org and www.LoveIsRespect.org.
  • No Escape Room | NCMEC Escape Room | Created by NCMEC: An interactive film that shows how teens get trapped in sextortion. Learn firsthand how it can happen to any kid, and what you can do to help. This is an important resource to share with kids about how easy sextortion can happen to them online.
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