of all sex trafficking survivors experienced childhood sexual abuse, which can disrupt the development of healthy emotional boundaries, self-worth, and the ability to recognize or escape abusive relationships. Traffickers frequently exploit these challenges through emotional manipulation, promises of love or safety, and trauma bonds, which are created through cycles of abuse and affection. In cases of familial exploitation, childhood sexual abuse regularly escalates into sex trafficking.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nCommon Myths About Human Trafficking Victims<\/b><\/p>\n
Misunderstandings about what human trafficking looks like in the United States continue to shape public perception and hinder the identification of victims. These myths can result in misdirected efforts, missed warning signs, and incorrect assumptions that exclude many who are actually at risk of exploitation.<\/span><\/p>\nOne of the most common myths about human trafficking is that it always involves kidnapping by a stranger. In reality, most victims know their trafficker. They may be a family member, romantic partner, friend, or employer. Traffickers often build trust first and then use emotional manipulation, financial dependence, or fear to control their victims.<\/span><\/p>\nAnother common belief is that human trafficking only happens in large cities or foreign countries. However, trafficking occurs in every region and community of the United States, including small towns and rural areas. While the most prevalent type of trafficking may change, trafficking exists and persists in every type of community. Victims are often trafficked in their own hometowns.<\/span><\/p>\nThere is also a harmful stereotype that trafficking victims are always young girls or not U.S. citizens. While these groups are certainly affected, survivors include people of all genders, ages, races, and citizenship statuses. In fact, nearly 80% of the trafficking survivors that Safe House Project served in 2024 were 25 or older, and 96% were U.S. citizens. Many survivors are adults with families and jobs.<\/span><\/p>\nSeeing the Unseen<\/b><\/p>\n
Human trafficking thrives in silence, stigma, and misunderstanding. When communities rely on stereotypes and myths, they overlook the hundreds of thousands of people who are suffering in plain sight throughout the United States. Victims cannot be confined to one identity or experience \u2014 they include children abused by trusted adults, teenagers seeking affection, adults struggling to make ends meet, and people navigating life with disabilities and discrimination. Understanding who can be trafficked must begin with expanding the awareness of what vulnerability looks like and where exploitation can occur.<\/span><\/p>\nBy recognizing the broad range of people who are affected by trafficking, we move closer to solutions that are both compassionate and effective. Prevention requires education. Identification requires vigilance. Healing requires access to services that affirm each survivor\u2019s dignity and potential. Every person has a role in building safer communities. When we learn to see the unseen, we become part of the movement to end trafficking and help survivors reclaim their freedom and future.<\/span><\/p>\nTo learn more about what human trafficking looks like, take our <\/span>free OnWatch training<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WHO CAN BE A VICTIM OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING? Human trafficking affects hundreds of thousands of people each year in the United States. This crime occurs in every state, impacting men,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":3030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3459","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-awareness"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safehouseproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safehouseproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safehouseproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehouseproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehouseproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3459"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehouseproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3460,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehouseproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3459\/revisions\/3460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehouseproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safehouseproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehouseproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safehouseproject.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}