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Traffickers often go undetected and may have connections with local businesses, government officials, or law enforcement, who benefit from the labor or services of the victim(s). Traffickers recruit their victims through: Personal relationships Internet, social media, newspaper ads Employment agencies, recruiters Word of mouth Kidnapping and abduction VICTIM CHARACTERISTICS Traffickers often prey on the most vulnerable: people with disabilities, the very young or old, people who identify in minority sexual orientation or gender identities, people who have low literacy and educational levels, people who cannot speak English, American Indians and Alaska Natives, people living in rural areas, and people who are living in extreme poverty, to name a few.5 Trafficking victims are predominantly women and children, but men and gender nonconforming individuals are also exploited in both the sex and labor industries. Social service providers and law enforcement are often among the first professionals to encounter victims of trafficking for reasons other than trafficking itself, such as domestic violence or drug/alcohol dependency. For that reason, it is important that certified domestic violence centers and their broader communities are aware of trafficking indicators and are prepared to meet the needs of victims. VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING CAN BE FOUND IN ANY SITUATION, INCLUDING: “Cesar Navarrete and Geovanni Navarrete beat, threatened, restrained, and locked workers in trucks to force them to work for them as agricultural laborers. The defendants underpaid the workers and imposed escalating debts on them, threatening physical harm if workers left their employment before their debts had been repaid.”6 5“Trafficking in Persons Report” 6“Immokalee, Florida, Family Charged with Forcing Immigrants into Farm Labor” 6 7 VENUES AND INDUSTRIES Trafficking is a clandestine operation in which traffickers guard and control their victims, taking great precautions to conceal the circumstances of trafficking from the public. Restaurants and bars – for example, the food industry The commercial sex trade, including exotic dancing, prostitution, and pornography The drug trade Domestic servitude Cleaning services Hotels Servile marriage or foreign bride schemes Begging Construction Factories Farm work, particularly migrant Service industries such as nursing homes VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING CAN BE FOUND IN ANY SITUATION, INCLUDING: 8 USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TRAFFICKING Technology can be used as a tool for trafficking and exploitation. The internet allows traffickers to work remotely and anonymously with limited risks and maximum profits. They are able to connect quickly and efficiently with other members of their trafficking ring and use various technologies for the recruitment and selling of victims. Human trafficking has been facilitated by the internet through: Newsgroups, web messages, and bulletin boards Websites and search engines Chat rooms and other web chat sites Mobile and smart phone applications Internet payment systems Video games File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Peer-to-peer networks and file swapping programs Encryption “Nelson and five other people presented themselves on social media as rappers and music producers but actually made their money peddling sex and drugs, according to investigators.”7 7Olmeda, Rafael 8 9 CONNECTIONS BETWEEN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING Domestic violence and human trafficking are forms of violence that use coercive control, intimidation, and physical violence as a means of dominance over an individual or a group of individuals. While many differences exist between domestic violence and human trafficking, there are numerous similarities in the tactics perpetrators and traffickers use to commit the violence and how the victims experience the violence. Domestic violence batterers choose to perpetrate violence. Similarly, traffickers choose to engage in exploitation and trafficking. Some tactics used by both traffickers and domestic violence perpetrators to control and hold power over their victims include: Intimidation and fear Social and geographical