Identifying Potentially Trafficked Persons

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If you are a service provider, remember that it is not your role to determine for certain that a person has been trafficked. Your responsibility is to offer support, protection, escape, recovery or a referral to other agencies.

A comprehensive list of services is available at www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/octiptraining/index.html.

Whether you are a member of the public or a service provider, consider the following signs to look for:

Signs of abuse and control[edit]

The person:

  • Believes they must work against their will
  • Is unable to leave their current situation
  • Shows signs that their movements are being controlled
  • Is subject to violence or threats of violence against themselves or loved ones
  • Suffers injuries that appear to be the result of an assault
  • Suffers injuries or impairments typical of certain jobs or control measures such as cigarette burns or branding tattoos
  • Is distrustful of the authorities
  • Is afraid of revealing their immigration status
  • Does not have their passport or other travel or identity documents
  • Has false identity or travel documents
  • Is found somewhere likely to be used for exploiting people, for example a drug lab
  • Is unfamiliar with the local language
  • Does not know their home or work address
  • Allows others to speak for them when addressed directly
  • Is forced to work under unhealthy or unsafe conditions
  • Is disciplined through punishment
  • Receives little or no pay
  • Works excessively long hours over long periods
  • Has no access to medical care
  • Has limited contact with their families or with people outside their immediate environment
  • Believes they are bonded by debt
  • Is in a situation of dependence
  • Comes from a place known to be a source of human trafficking

Signs that a child may be trafficked[edit]

The child:

  • Does not have or cannot reach a parent or guardian
  • Looks intimidated and does not behave like a typical child their age
  • Has no friends of their own age outside of work or time to play
  • Lives with someone not related to them and not a guardian
  • Does not go to school

“family” or eats only left overs

  • Does work that is not suitable for children
  • Travels unaccompanied or in groups with people who are not relatives

The following might also indicate that children have been trafficked:

  • The presence of child-sized clothing typically worn for doing manual or sex work.
  • Toys, beds and children’s clothing in inappropriate places such as brothels and factories.
  • An adult claims that they have “found” an unaccompanied child.

Signs that a person is living in domestic servitude[edit]

The person:

  • Lives with a family and has no private space
  • Sleeps in a shared or inappropriate space
  • Does not eat with the rest of the family or gets only left overs
  • Is unable to leave the home at all, or may only leave in the company of a member of the household
  • Is expected to be available to work up to 24 hours a day, with few or no days off
  • Has been physically or sexually assaulted by her employer or members of the household or is subject to abuse or threats

Signs that a person is being sexually exploited[edit]

The person:

  • Moves from one brothel to the next or works in various locations
  • Is escorted whenever they go
  • Has tattoos or other marks indicating “ownership” by their exploiters
  • Works long hours with few if any days off
  • Sleeps where they work
  • Lives or travels in a group, sometimes with other women who do not speak the same language
  • Has clothes typically worn for sex work
  • Knows only how to say sex-related words in the local language or in the language of the client group
  • Has no cash of their own and cannot show any identity documents
  • Suffers from drug or alcohol addiction, or from malnutrition
  • Has scars or injuries, or other signs of abuse or torture

Signs that a person is being exploited for labour[edit]

The person:

  • Lives in groups in the same place where they work and leaves those premises infrequently, if at all (and only with their employer)
  • Lives in degraded, unsuitable places, such as an old barn or storage shed
  • Works in unhealthy or unsafe conditions and for excessively long hours
  • Does not have the right clothing or protective gear for the job
  • Receives little or no pay and has no labour contract or contract is overly restrictive
  • Depends on their employer for work, transportation and accommodation
  • Is subject to security measures preventing them from leaving the work premises
  • Is disciplined through fines
  • Is subjected to insults, abuse, threats or violence
This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by People's Law School, 2014.


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