Identifying Potentially Trafficked Persons

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

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

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

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

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

Full-privilege licence

You can take the road test for a full-privilege licence after you have had the novice licence for two years.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by People's Law School, 2014.

Human Trafficking in Canada Wikibook © People's Law School is, except for the images, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.