Nothing paints a picture of an impossible task better than the Greek myth of Sisyphus. In the myth, Sisyphus was a very clever king who entertained himself by cheating death and tricking the Olympians. As punishment for his crimes against the gods, Sisyphus was condemned to the Underworld with the eternal task of rolling an enormous boulder up a hill, only to have the boulder roll back down the hill each time he got close to the top. When I think about what it would take to eradicate human trafficking, I often find myself feeling a bit like Sisyphus. The problem feels altogether too big, too wide-spread, and too damaging to ever be fully remedied! As missionary Katie Davis said in her book, Kisses from Katie, this is the kind of problem that feels like you’re trying to empty the ocean with an eye-dropper.

 Because this problem is so big, widespread, and damaging, it can be really easy to lose heart and believe the lie that there’s nothing we can do as normal everyday people. Thankfully, this notion is exactly what I stated above: a lie. “Normal people” help rescue others out of slavery all the time simply because they kept their eyes open and weren’t afraid to speak up when they saw something suspicious. In this post, I’d like to share some tell-tale signs of human trafficking so that we can all feel more prepared to fight back against the epidemic of modern-day slavery.

According to the National Trafficking Hotline, survivors of human trafficking can often show signs of poor hygiene, malnourishment, and fatigue. Additionally, they may display signs of physical abuse, restraint, or confinement. Of course, not all of the signs are this obvious. Sometimes the trauma of trafficking manifests itself in behaviors like substance abuse, extreme anxiety or paranoia, or fear. People who are being trafficked typically have very few personal possessions, display a lack of knowledge about their whereabouts, and often share scripted, confusing, or inconsistent stories about their lives. When it comes to their living conditions, signs of human trafficking can include a lack of freedom to come and go at will, long or unusual hours, and high levels of security like opaque/blocked windows, or not being allowed to speak to anyone else alone. Sometimes people who are being trafficked will mention owing a large debt to the person who is supposed to be taking care of them, or try to protect them when they are questioned about the person’s morals or motivations.

Now, this isn’t an exhaustive list of the signs of human trafficking and not every single person who shows one of these things is being trafficked. The most important thing to recognize is that these are all indicators of abuse, and we should always look closely at situations where they are present. Everyday people become heroes when they recognize signs of abuse and aren’t afraid to speak up about it! For more information about how to recognize signs of human trafficking or what to do when you see it, you can visit the links below. If you do see signs of someone being trafficked, speak up! Call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888.

https://humantraffickinghotline.org/human-trafficking/recognizing-signs

https://polarisproject.org/recognizing-human-trafficking/