Warning Signs of Exploitation

Warning signs of exploitation are incredibly important to be aware of, whether you are a parent, are someone who works with youth, or are a youth yourself and notice odd behaviour in some of your friends or peers. We have collected a number of common warning signs for sexual exploitation/sex trafficking specifically here, but this is not an exhaustive list. 

You may note that some of these warning signs of exploitation are not strictly for trafficking situations and can be warning signs of other abusive, toxic, or unhealthy realtionships. It is important when we are devloping a plan to address these signs that we do not immediately ask “Are you being trafficked?” We want to ease into the conversation and focus on checking in with the person around the warning signs we’ve noted. If the person is being trafficked and we come on too strong in questioning, they may be scared away and reluctant to share more with us.

Warning signs of exploitation can show up in many ways and situations- we want to look out for noticeable changes in behaviours, in friendships or family relationships, in openness, in physical appearance and material posessions, etc. These may be noticed by parents or family members, teachers, workers, or peers. 

Warning signs of exploitation include: suddenly having a new partner (often with an age difference and met them online), withdrawing from activities, school, and friends, having new clothes, nails and hair done, big gifts from partner, being incredibly secretive about their relationship, unhealthy relationship signs seen from their partner, have their partner speaking for them or holidng onto their belongings, etc. 

Being able to identify the warning signs of exploitation is one step you can take to help combat trafficking in your community. Remember, you don’t need to be the expert on this topic, but having a list of the signs of exploitation you have noticed can be incredibly helpful when you are seeking support for next steps. You can connect with KSAC or other agencies you know of who support survivors of trafficking, or call the national trafficking hotline to learn how to address these warning signs with the youth in question.