9 Myths You Believed Are True, But Aren't

Here are some of the most common trafficking myths, and the truth about what’s really happening. Read along the texts and bust the myths!

1) Human Trafficking = Human Smuggling

There are important differences between human trafficking and people smuggling. The main difference is the element of exploitation.

Trafficking is the recruiting, transporting, harboring, or receiving of a person through force in order to exploit him or her for prostitution, forced labor, or slavery.

On the other hand, human smuggling is the transport of an individual from one destination to another, usually with his or her consent—for example, across a border.

Trafficking does not require transportation. Although transportation may be involved as a control mechanism to keep victims in unfamiliar places, it is not a required element of the trafficking definition.

2) Most Traffickers Are What the Movies Show You

Although poverty can be a factor in human trafficking because it is often an indicator of vulnerability, poverty alone is not a single causal factor or universal indicator of a human trafficking victim. Trafficking occurs in a wide range of socioeconomic classes, and the people involved could be ANYONE—there’s no one type of trafficker. While organized crime plays a large role in global human trafficking, communities, local governments, and even families are often involved in the process, too. Many times, it’s strictly about economics—those who sell their children are not “evil” or “bad” people, they simply feel that they have no other choice.

3) Human Trafficking Only Refers to Forced Prostitution

Human trafficking does not always equal prostitution—it can include indentured servitude, other exploitation in the workforce (in factories or on farms), and even the organ trade.

4) Men Are Not The Targets of Trafficking

Men and young boys are also trafficked, and they often get much less attention then trafficked women do. In part, that’s because it’s very difficult to get young boys out of trafficking, especially sex work, because the activity generates the kind of quick money that cannot be made anywhere else. Men and boys often remain invisible in the trafficking dialogue, or it is assumed they are only trafficked for labor.

5) Trafficking Only Happens in some particular Countries

While it’s daunting—and at times depressing—to attempt to understand human trafficking on a global and local level, it’s also empowering. Human trafficking exists nationwide—in cities, suburbs, and rural towns—and possibly in your own community. Once you know the realities of human trafficking, you’re better prepared to raise awareness and start taking action.

6) There Must Be Elements of Physically Harm when Identifying A Human Trafficking Situation.

Trafficking does not require physical restraint, bodily harm, or physical force. Psychological means of control, such as threats, fraud, or abuse of the legal process, are sufficient elements of the crime.

7) Victims of Human Trafficking Will Immediately Ask for Help or Assistance and Will Self-identify As A Victim of A Crime.

Victims of human trafficking often do not immediately seek help or self-identify as victims of a crime due to a variety of factors, including lack of trust, self-blame, or specific instructions by the traffickers regarding how to behave when talking to law enforcement or social services. It is important to avoid making a snap judgment about who is or who is not a trafficking victim based on first encounters. Trust often takes time to develop. Continued trust-building and patient interviewing is often required to get to the whole story and uncover the full experience of what a victim has gone through.

8) If the trafficked person consented or was informed about what type of labor they would be doing, then it cannot be human trafficking because they “knew better.”

Initial consent to commercial sex or a labor setting prior to acts of force, fraud, or coercion (or if the victim is a minor in a sex trafficking situation) is not relevant to the crime, nor is payment.

9) Those Who Are Trafficked Are Kidnapped or Deceived

At times, trafficking victims clearly understand the situations they’re entering and know they will be exploited. They choose to go anyway because they believe they will ultimately profit. Some make the choice to be trafficked because of the lack of jobs within their communities . In other cases, poor families will send their own daughters into sex work or labor for the lucrative one-time pay-off, as well as the potential for more in the future—once a trafficked person pays off his/her “debt” (the travel and document fees traffickers tell their victims that they owe), he/she can begin to earn profit.

In fact, many villages use the word "trafficking" interchangeably with “working.” When some sex workers or factory workers return to the village after “working” in the city, they build large houses and appear “rich” after working, even though their type of work and hardship isn't discussed. As a result, others in the community strive for similar material gain and continue the trafficking cycle.

But know that when children are involved in sex work or labor, they have not made that choice for themselves. That is always human trafficking.

Check this video out:

The Reality of Human Trafficking (Infographic)

(Global Nomads Group, 2012)

Resources from:

Global Nomads Group. (2012, March 29). The Reality of Human Trafficking (Infographic). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj62iq3Z77g

Jesionka, N. (n.d.). Human Trafficking: The Myths and the Realities. Retrieved from https://www.themuse.com/advice/human-trafficking-the-myths-and-the-realities

Homeland Security. (n.d). Myths and Misconception. Retrieved from

https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/myths-and-misconceptions

National Crime Agency. (n.d.). Common Myths About Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. Retrieved from http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/crime-threats/human-trafficking/common-myths-about-human-trafficking

National Human Trafficking Hotline. (n.d). Myths & Misconceptions . Retrieved from https://humantraffickinghotline.org/what-human-trafficking/myths-misconceptions