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.

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.
• Eats apart from other members of the "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.

Signs that a person is being exploited for labour

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.

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