Can you spot the signs?
Child sex trafficking hides in plain sight across all types of communities. Learning how to identify the signs of trafficking can save lives.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) responded to 19,000 reports of possible child sex trafficking in 2022. Although this number is staggeringly high, it also represents all the people who recognized the signs of this crime and took action to report it. Some signs of child sex trafficking include:
- A child is in possession of large amounts of cash, prepaid cards, hotel keys, or multiple cell phones
- The child’s ID being held by another person, or not having any ID
- Signs that the child has been coached when talking to people, letting others speak for them, or looking at others before they speak
- Tattoos that indicate money or ownership, such as “$” or barcodes
- Evidence that the child has been living out of a suitcase, at motels or in a car
Click here for a full list of indicators from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
If you suspect human trafficking or sex trafficking is happening, the Nebraska Human Trafficking Hotline can be reached 24 hours per day at 833-PLS-LOOK (833-757-5665). The Nebraska Human Trafficking Hotline is designed to receive tips on possible human trafficking and quickly direct the information to local investigators. Tips can be made anonymously and go directly to the Nebraska Information Analysis Center, a division of the Nebraska State Patrol.
Project Harmony’s Role
Project Harmony’s Anti-Trafficking Youth Services Program was established to assist Omaha Police Department with their astronomical case load of youth at high risk to be sex trafficked. We work closely with Omaha Police Department to identify youth that they believe could benefit from a connection with an advocate/specialist.
The job of our specialist is to build rapport with the youth, help the youth with their basic needs, and hopefully build enough trust with the youth to allow them come forward with information about their traffickers and/or their situations. We also have a services coordinator who works to identify available services in the community for trafficking survivors as well as to gather professionals for a multi-disciplinary team response to help these youth that have been identified for our program.
The goal of this program is to help lead Omaha Police to arrests/criminal charges on the traffickers while providing youth and families with the necessary services to help them heal and move forward from the trauma of sex trafficking.
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