Six children were rescued from sex traffickers in Amarillo in March, reports Amarillo.com. Now the city has brought in an expert on human trafficking to educate law enforcement about the issue.
Last year, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center received almost 22 thousand calls reporting incidents. Nearly 2 thousand of those calls came from Texas. 325 thousand children in North America are at risk each year of falling victim to sex traffickers. However, this number is low as it only includes reported cases. Amarillo is particularly at risk due to its location on the I-40 corridor. Traci Rogers, director of Amarillo’s No Boundaries International office, said her organization finds more than 100 victims online every day.
Signs of human trafficking, provided by polarisproject.org.
Common Work and Living Conditions: The Individual(s) in Question
- Is not free to leave or come and go as he/she wishes
- Is under 18 and is providing commercial sex acts
- Is in the commercial sex industry and has a pimp / manager
- Is unpaid, paid very little, or paid only through tips
- Works excessively long and/or unusual hours
- Is not allowed breaks or suffers under unusual restrictions at work
- Owes a large debt and is unable to pay it off
- Was recruited through false promises concerning the nature and conditions of his/her work
- High security measures exist in the work and/or living locations (e.g. opaque windows, boarded up windows, bars on windows, barbed wire, security cameras, etc.)
Poor Mental Health or Abnormal Behavior
- Is fearful, anxious, depressed, submissive, tense, or nervous/paranoid
- Exhibits unusually fearful or anxious behavior after bringing up law enforcement
- Avoids eye contact
Poor Physical Health
- Lacks health care
- Appears malnourished
- Shows signs of physical and/or sexual abuse, physical restraint, confinement, or torture
Lack of Control
- Has few or no personal possessions
- Is not in control of his/her own money, no financial records, or bank account
- Is not in control of his/her own identification documents (ID or passport)
- Is not allowed or able to speak for themselves (a third party may insist on being present and/or translating)
Other
- Claims of just visiting and inability to clarify where he/she is staying/address
- Lack of knowledge of whereabouts and/or do not know what city he/she is in
- Loss of sense of time
- Has numerous inconsistencies in his/her story
This list is not exhaustive and represents only a selection of possible indicators. Also, the red flags in this list may not be present in all trafficking cases and are not cumulative.
Learn more atwww.traffickingresourcecenter.org.