Teens are being sold for sex
You may be their only hope!
What Is Sex Trafficking?
Sex Trafficking: Basic Components
Sex trafficking occurs when emotional manipulation, force, deception, threats or assault are used to influence a person to perform sexual acts against their will.
Sex trafficking could occur when a person’s boyfriend makes them feel loved, gives them extravagant gifts, and provides for them financially- but then convinces or forces them to engage in sexual acts with other people.
Sex trafficking could occur when an individual convinces another person to perform sexual acts that they would not otherwise perform, with the veiled promise that they will acquire new friends, achieve financial security, or that their other basic needs be met.
OR,
Teens who have suffered abuse from the hands of family members may seek a sense of safety by running away from home. As a result, they are more likely to end up unhoused and may engage in sex work in order to “make ends meet,” financially.
These youth are more likely to be placed into foster homes or group homes, and are also more likely to run away. Pimps attract children by targeting them in group homes, promising them gifts, a sense of belonging, and a place where they will be loved. Pimps may encourage them with presents and gifts, all the while grooming them for a life of forced prostitution.
Did you know that:
- 93% of sex trafficking victims are Canadian citizens
- 90% of victims are female
- 17 years old is the average age of victims
- The average age of recruitment is 13
- The average age of recruitment for Indigenous girls is 8
- 30% of trafficked individuals are recruited by a boyfriend
- 25% are recruited through friends- who are often also victims
Common Signs
Some of the common signs that a person may be the victim of Sex Trafficking might include:
- Appearing malnourished or lacking health care
- Showing signs of physical and/or sexual abuse, physical restraint, confinement, or torture
- Appearing unusually fearful, anxious, depressed, submissive, tense, nervous, or paranoid
- They are not free to leave, or to come and go as they wish
- Being isolated from one’s family and friends
- Do not have control of their own identification documents (ID or passport)
- Cannot freely communicate with anyone they wish
- Cannot clearly say where they are staying, or they are unaware of their whereabouts
- Few or no personal belongings
- Suspicious jewelry or branding tattoos, which could indicate that they are ‘owned’ by a certain trafficker or pimp.
- Has a noticeably older “boyfriend”
- Many unexplained absences from school
- Several cell phones, prepaid phones, hotel keys, expensive gifts
This list is not exhaustive and not all victims of sex trafficking will display all of the above characteristics.
If you have concern for someone’s wellbeing, or if you suspect that an individual may be engaged in a forced sexual relationship in Moncton, Dieppe, Riverview or surrounding areas, please,
Text, call, or email us:
Phone: (506) 874-4333
Email: info@communityofhopenb.ca
How Does Sex Trafficking Begin?
Does Sex Trafficking Happen In NB?
Steve Trueman
Community of HopeCBC reports: Sex trafficking ‘definitely happening’
She was getting no money, she wasn’t even being fed for days…She was beaten up multiple times and there was no way to get out …
I’ve heard stories where they have been beaten, they have been raped by the trafficker or the controller…”