Invisible Chains by Benjamin Perrin Page B

deceived into compliance. Even when they have foreknowledge of the situation, they may lack the power or ability to leave and end their exploitation.
Myth:
The individuals committed unlawful acts, so they are not trafficking victims.
Reality:
Traffickers often force their victims to commit unlawful acts such as prostitution or immigration offences. Trafficked persons are victims of crime and should be treated with compassion, dignity, and respect.

Myth:
The individual was paid for services.
Reality:
Many trafficking victims never keep any of the money paid for their exploitation; traffickers may provide others with small amounts of money to keep them compliant but not allow them to leave.
Myth:
The individual had freedom of movement and so is not a trafficking victim.
Reality:
Some traffickers forcibly confine their victims; many more control them using threats, psychological coercion, and manipulation. In many cases, traffickers are also able to make credible threats against the family members of the victim. Physical violence used against victims can easily convince them that these threats are serious.
Myth:
Individuals who did not seize opportunities to escape are not trafficking victims.
Reality:
Victims are often under threats that make escape impossible or are under control similar to that experienced by victims of domestic abuse.
Myth:
The trafficker’s actions were culturally appropriate. Who are we to question such practices?
Reality:
Individual liberty is a right inherent to all people; countries across the globe consider human trafficking to be a serious problem that cannot be excused or justified.
Myth:
Traffickers and recruiters are always men.
Reality:
Women also recruit victims, enforce discipline for traffickers, and in some instances are traffickers themselves.
Myth:
It can’t be trafficking if the trafficker and victim are related or married.
Reality:
This is like the old fable that it is legally impossible for a husband to rape his wife. Being married or related does not give someone the right to victimize another. Some victims have agreed to marry their exploiters in the false hope of lessening or ending their abuse.
    Five steps used by traffickers to recruit and control victims
    Many recruiters are younger male members of trafficking-involved street gangs, seeking out and delivering young women just as “headhunters” locate potential executives to fill job vacancies in corporations. They may be joined in the quest for new “talent” by young women who are criminal associates of the trafficker or are victims already under their control. The process used by these recruiters is tried-and-true.
    Anick Gagnon of Projet intervention prostitution de Quebec has identified five steps in the life cycle of domestic sex trafficking. First, the recruiter looks for any vulnerability he or she can exploit and offers something to meet the needs or desires of the target. For example, a teenage girl hanging out at the mall alone may be offered a cigarette. If she accepts, the recruiter engages her in conversation, and if the conversation includes comments about a recent breakup with the potential victim’s boyfriend or troubles at home, the recruiter senses an opening and quickly exploits it.
    The second step involves moving toward an “engagement,” as recruiters sometimes refer to it. Following up on news of the potential victim’s concerns and difficulties, the trafficker begins building an intimate relationship with the victim. After the trafficker has identified the most effective way to “groom” the victim, he uses coercion, manipulation, and, if necessary, direct physical force to compel the victim to be sold for sex for the first time.
    Gagnon suggests that step two often includes an appeal for sympathy from the victim, who will respond to her “lover’s” needs if he’s succeeded in establishing a relationship. “‘I owe five hundred dollars,