How to Spot
Trafficking
Keeping Our Youth Safe
TALK THE TALK
NO ASSUMPTIONS
Do not assume that your children "will not do this "and avoid talking to them about their lives, their bodies and relationships. Communication is key to keeping them safe.
DEFINE
Talk to your children about healthy relationships. Help them define what healthy relationships look and feel like. Also help them identify empty promises vs real love and care.
CREATE ROOM FOR ERROR
Failure is a great learning opportunity. Teaching your children healthy acceptance of failure and working towards change together, helps build their safety net.
COMMUNICATE
Build resilience and confidence in your children through constant support, acknowledgment and encouragement. Children who feel they are heard, seen and appreciated are less likely to hide information from their parents.
GET INVOLVED
Create time to be involved in your child's life. Interact with their circle of friends, frequently meet the people they date AND socialize with their friends' parents. Be present and have knowledge of the extra-curricular activities they are part of. Be wary of them dating people who are much older and friends that isolate them.
TIPS FOR PARENTS
BE MEDIA SAVVY
INTERNET SAFETY
Teach your children the importance of internet safety and sharing their information online. Help them keep their email private by not sharing log-in information amongst friends and teach them to be cognizant of the information they search and post on line.
DIGITAL SAFETY
Teach your child to never share information about your location and current whereabouts. Interactions with strangers online should also be actively discouraged. In addition teach your child to never share inappropriate pictures or compromising information about themselves over digital platforms. These can be used as a means to threaten them.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Teach your children the importance of internet safety and sharing their information online. Help them keep their email private by not sharing log-in information amongst friends and teach them to be cognizant of the information they search and post on line.
REACH OUT
BE AWARE
Be alert of sudden changes in the behaviour of your child. If your child begins to isolate, is missing frequently from home, has changes in academic behaviour, is skipping school, has signs of physical or emotional abuse, has unexplainable possessions, begins viewing inappropriate websites or has a change of friend circle, communicate with them and find out the reason they are acting differently. It is also important to educate them about physical, emotional abuse, exploitation and child trafficking.
INTERNET SAFETY
If you know or suspect a child is in immediate danger of being trafficked, make sure you call your local authorities/ police.
TIPS FOR TEACHERS
TRAINING
Set up board committees dedicated to social responsibility, making anti-human trafficking efforts a company-wide policy. Identify the areas where partnerships and operations may pose human trafficking risks and have formalized procedures to eradicate such risks.
INTEGRATION
Integrate human trafficking education into internal and external operations. Ensure all your suppliers are screened and a zero tolerance policy for human trafficking in supplier selection is adopted. Educational trainings for internal staff and suppliers should be mandated.
BE ALERT
Be alert of your school's culture when discussing human trafficking.
Though you may feel your school is safe, there may be victims of trafficking in your very class. Be mindful of physical and emotional safety when discussing the topic. There could be active networks on school campus, and a teacher who might have a conversation with a victim who's come forward, may risk exposing this knowledge to the exploiter, thereby increasing the risk of retaliation toward the child
TIPS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS
BOARD COMMITTEES
Set up board committees dedicated to social responsibility, making anti-human trafficking efforts a company-wide policy. Identify the areas where partnerships and operations may pose human trafficking risks and have formalized procedures to eradicate such risks.
INTEGRATION
Integrate human trafficking education into internal and external operations. Ensure all your suppliers are screened and a zero tolerance policy for human trafficking in supplier selection is adopted. Educational trainings for internal staff and suppliers should be mandated.
MONITOR AND EVALUATE
Periodically monitor internal and external partnerships and procedures to ensure compliance and adherence to policies. Suppliers should be asked for certification requirements as part of their contract. Examine production and manufacturing units and suppliers to ensure that products are produced by known and trusted partners who are not engaged in child labour.
GET INVOLVED
Partner with local, regional and international campaigns in establishing industry-wide or country-wide task forces working on combatting human trafficking.
TIPS FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS
KNOW THE SIGNS AND REPORT
If you see something that seems suspicious, make sure you report it immediately. Look out for signs of coercion, someone being held against their will, someone being forced to do things they don’t want to do or say things that seem a little off, have bruises, are being fearfully submissive, or appear to be afraid of something that you can’t really pinpoint. Gather critical information, such as licence plate numbers and the description of the vehicle and then contact the authorities.
GET INVOLVED & SPREAD THE WORD
Periodically monitor internal and external partnerships and procedures to ensure compliance and adherence to policies. Suppliers should be asked for certification requirements as part of their contract. Examine production and manufacturing units and suppliers to ensure that products are produced by known and trusted partners who are not engaged in child labour.