Instructions for the professional public

How to identify a victim of human trafficking

A victim of human trafficking can become anyone who is vulnerable due to certain life circumstances (loss of job, existential threat, domestic violence, homelessness, youth and related naivety, blind trust, falling in love, lack of information, desire for earning money quickly, addiction…) and therefore more susceptible to traps used by traffickers to recruit victims.

The cases we encounter in practice clearly show that the signs of someone being in captivity, controlled and exploited are often not clearly visible at first glance. It is also necessary to know that traffickers exploit victims in very diverse ways, and that in most cases it is important for traffickers that victims are or at least appear to be in good physical condition – that they are interesting to potential buyers or clients. Human traffickers even convince or force some victims to establish their own companies, through which they run their business; the criminal liability for their illegal activities is of course on the the victims. Consequently, this means that an average citizen or even an official cannot recognize a person responsible for a company as a (potential) victim who is forced or manipulated into acting as the person responsible for a company. By being acquainted with the survival strategies of victims of human trafficking we are aware that a victim can also be a perpetrator of criminal acts. Therefore, we must be very careful when it comes to identifying victims of human trafficking, and above all, we must obtain a comprehensive picture of the individual case upon which we can draw conclusions.

The interdepartmental working group to combat human trafficking also prepared the Manual on the identification, assistance and protection of victims of human trafficking.

We wanted to emphasize that, if we want to work professionally, it is necessary to avoid the tendency to profile victims of human trafficking. Some indicators to which attention must be paid to when trying to define an individual case are listed below.

Persons who are victims of human trafficking:

may believe they have to work and follow orders even though they don’t want to
often do not dare or are not allowed to leave the work environment
feel that leaving is not possible
show signs that their movement is controlled or restricted
are not allowed to have contacts with their social network and relatives whenever they want
cannot negotiate working conditions
are dependent on moods, wishes and needs of others
show fear or anxiety,
are exposed to various forms of violence (psychological, physical, economic, sexual) and threats to themselves or their families
have injuries that could be the result of physical violence, constant supervision or performing certain forced labor (old scars, limited physical movement, damaged hearing or vision, etc.)
show mistrust or fear in relation to officials, as many of them have experience that officials in their home countries are subject to corruption
do not have their personal documents, certificates, etc. or these are fake
are located on or visit locations where traffickers exploit them
often do not speak Slovenian language
do not know the address of their place of work/residence
may live in the same household as their employer, or it may be the employer who chooses the place of residence for the victim
live in poor living conditions (not by their own choice), sometimes in a group of other victims who speak different languages
allow a third person to speak on their behalf and for them, even when they have been directly addressed
behave as if they have received instructions on what to say or do (for example, at the police station they tell exactly the same, learned story)
establish a company, but in all activities they are accompanied by a trafficker and consult with him about the smallest details
they often do not have a signed employment contract or it is not written in a language they understand – they are not familiar with the content of the contract
receive a lower payment for work than was agreed, do not receive payment at all, or the payment is not proportionate to the payment that the majority of the population receives for similar work
often are not formally qualified for the work they perform, or do not have official certificates of completion of schooling or necessary qualifications for the work they perform
on the other hand, may have higher education and are forced to perform certain work, but do not seek help related to exploitation because traffickers threaten their families
work also outside working hours and do not have the right to vacation or rest
often do not have organized health and pension insurance
sleep at the workplace or in the immediate vicinity of the workplace
have travel and document production expenses paid (the amount is not known) by human traffickers that they have to repay with work when they arrive at the workplace
may be tattooed in a way that may indicate they belong to a particular owner
have very few clothes or objects of their own
have very little or no knowledge about the place/country they are in
are recruited primarily for work in construction (without protective equipment), agriculture, entertainment industry, tourism, service activities (forced prostitution, massage parlors…), serving and housekeeping. Many victims are also recruited for the purpose of forced marriages and forced execution of crimes (begging, theft, transfer of drugs and other prohibited substances, recruitment of peers…).

We must also pay attention to cases of recruitment of healthy children and adults who are trafficked for the purpose of harvesting organs, tissues and blood.

Child victims of human trafficking:

have no contact with their parents or official guardians
look scared and behave unusually compared to children of a similar age
don’t have friends outside a certain “work” group
are forced into work that is not suitable for children
appear alone, without guardians at the “workplace”
live in unsuitable conditions and separated from other children
feed on leftovers and separately from other members of the “family”
do not attend school
don’t have time to play
travel unaccompanied by adults or travel in a group of adults who are not their relatives (but present themselves as such)
carry with them clothes that are normal for performing physical work or sexual services
keep notes with phone numbers of taxi services
beg, steal or play instruments on the street in accordance with the instructions of human traffickers
if addressed by an adult on the street, do not want to communicate or do not understand the language
are forced into marriage, early sexual activity (girls can get pregnant) and dropping out of school.