Many people falsely believe that human trafficking doesn't happen in their country or area. Other folks think it only happens to poor people, and still others believe that trafficking victims will be quick to run for help when an opportunity arises. Myths such as these only help traffickers keep people — victims and those who might help them — in the dark.
Sisters are doing what they can to expose trafficking and reverse its growing grip on the world, including neighborhoods in the Midwest. Awareness and education are key tools in this effort.
Traffickers exploit vulnerable people, and youth and children become their prime targets. If often takes little effort to trick, trap or force another person into a single action against their will or, eventually, a life of slavery. Expanding awareness of the common tools that traffickers use is a key step in prevention.
Begin by saying: "We learn from a young age that people can be unkind, or even cruel. People often become accustomed to mistreatment of themselves and others. Human traffickers use techniques we're pretty familiar with to exploit other people – namely force, fraud and coercion."
Display to students the following definitions, inviting three students to each read one:
Force includes physical restraint, physical harm, sexual assault, and beatings. Monitoring and confinement often are used to control victims, especially during early stages of victimization, to break down their resistance.
Fraud includes false promises regarding employment, wages, working conditions, love, marriage or a better life. Over time, there may be unexpected changes in work conditions, compensation or debt agreements, or the nature of a relationship.
Coercion includes threats of serious harm to or physical restraint against any person, psychological manipulation, document confiscation, and shame and fear-inducing threats to share information or pictures with others or report to authorities.
Share the following scenarios with students and ask them to choose which of the three categories each situation falls into:
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A sibling vows to reveal a secret about you to your parents unless you do a huge favor for them.
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A gang of kids locks another student into a janitor's closet after a teacher praises him for studying hard.
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A bunch of students tells a new student that she can join their clique if she hosts a party. They drink her parents’ alcohol and trash her house, then ignore her.
Invite students to break into pairs or small groups and create their own scenario to illustrate how force, fraud or coercion can be used in sex trafficking or labor trafficking. Ask volunteers to act out their scenarios, then ask a classmate whether the situation is force, fraud or coercion.
After students have shared their scenarios, ask the following:
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How did these scenarios remind you of situations in your own life?
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How does it feel when people try to trick, threaten or manipulate you?
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What factors do you think make people especially vulnerable to force, fraud and coercion?
God of all goodness, few gifts you give are more awesome than free will.
You bless us with amazing minds and call us to follow your will and your ways.
Yet we can so easily choose the wrong things for ourselves.
And other people might impose their will on us, leading us on darker paths.
Show us your light, Lord, and help us enlighten others, as we strive to end human trafficking and other evils in our world.
Amen.
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