​When working with LGBTQ Survivors of human trafficking remember to center: S.H.A.R.E.S. (Safety. Honesty. Affirmation. Resources. Empowerment. Self-Care.)

Anyone has the potential to come into contact with a labor trafficking victim within or outside of the victim’s work environment. A broad range of professionals from medical and social service providers to inspectors, law enforcement and transportation workers are sometimes uniquely positioned or may have relatively rare access to opportunities to identify and respond to a potential labor trafficking situation.The possibility of response is incumbent upon the ability of these professionals to identify trafficking and related forms of labor exploitation, and the level of trust victims bestow in these professionals to relate vital information or otherwise come forward, especially for victims subject to ongoing coercion or threat of retaliation.
While some great trafficking-awareness aids have been developed to help recognize the signs, the best identification tools are understanding how trafficking happens, and learning an individual’s story.

Understand some of the ways labor trafficking happens and the importance of individual stories from Polaris: https://polarisproject.org/recognizing-human-trafficking/

​Whether we are working directly with someone who has experienced trafficking or discussing human trafficking with a friend, family member, or community member, the language we choose to use is important! Check out this great module on the use of language in anti-trafficking work from a toolkit created by the Youth Collaboratory!