SAN ANGELO, TX - The San Angelo Police Department collaborated with Open Arms RCC & LGBT+ Services to mark Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
According to information from the police, the blue sand in the cracks sends a message that “We can help all victims from falling through the cracks by educating ourselves about the warning signs of human trafficking.”
Information from the U.S. The Department of State gives human trafficking indicators.
It also states that everyone has the potential to discover a human trafficking situation. While the victims may sometimes be kept behind locked doors, they are often hidden right in front of us at, for example, construction sites, restaurants, elder care centers, nail salons, agricultural fields, and hotels.
Traffickers’ use of coercion – such as threats of deportation and harm to the victim or their family members – is so powerful that even if you reach out to victims, they may be too fearful to accept your help. Knowing indicators of human trafficking and some follow-up questions will help you act on your gut feeling that something is wrong and report it, the information states.
While not an exhaustive list, these are some key red flags that could alert you to a potential trafficking situation that should be reported:
- Living with employer
- Poor living conditions
- Multiple people in a cramped space
- Inability to speak to individual alone
- Answers appear to be scripted and rehearsed
- Employer is holding identity documents
- Signs of physical abuse
- Submissive or fearful
- Unpaid or paid very little
- Under 18 and in prostitution
Call the National Human Trafficking Hotline, a national 24-hour, toll-free, multilingual anti-trafficking hotline. Call 1-888-373-7888 to report a tip; connect with anti-trafficking services in your area; or request training and technical assistance, general information, or specific anti-trafficking resources.
Open Arms is a nonprofit organization that provides a no-cost service for victims of sexual assault, LGBT+ support, and educational outreach in the Concho Valley.
"To create social change within the Concho Valley, by providing prevention, education, advocacy, and a safe place to foster healing for survivors of sexual violence and gender discrimination," the organization stated. "All are welcome."
For more information, click here.
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