If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, contact 911.
For immediate assistance, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. You can reach the Hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in more than 200 languages. All calls are confidential and answered live by highly trained Anti-Trafficking Hotline Advocates.
Would You Know When to Ask for Help?
The following story is fictional and was created for educational purposes. It represents circumstances that can occur in situations involving exploitation and trafficking.
Maya's Story
Maya was 17 when she met someone online who seemed to understand everything she was going through.
At first, he was kind.
He listened when she talked about problems at home. He bought her food when she didn't have money. He told her she deserved a better life and eventually offered her a place to stay.
For the first time in a long time, Maya felt like someone was looking out for her.
But slowly, things changed.
He began deciding who Maya could talk to. He frequently checked her phone and became angry when she didn't respond immediately. He told her she owed him for the clothes, food, and room he had provided.
Then he began introducing her to men.
Maya was told that if she really cared about him, she would help make money. When she resisted, he reminded her that she had nowhere else to go. He threatened to expose private photographs of her and told her that her family would never want her back.
Maya wasn't locked inside a room.
Sometimes she went into stores, restaurants, and hotels. She passed dozens of people every day.
But she didn't feel free to leave.
One afternoon, Maya entered a convenience store alone. The cashier noticed that she seemed nervous and that someone outside appeared to be watching her.
Instead of confronting the person outside, the cashier quietly asked Maya:
"Are you okay? Do you feel safe going with that person?"
Maya didn't answer at first.
Then she whispered:
"I don't know how to leave."
That sentence was enough.
What Would You Do?
Someone experiencing trafficking or exploitation may not walk up to you and say, "I'm being trafficked."
They may be frightened. They may have been threatened. They may depend on the person exploiting them for housing, transportation, food, money, or emotional support. They may even believe that the person hurting them loves them.
If something doesn't feel right, pay attention.
You might notice someone who:
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Seems frightened, anxious, controlled, or unusually submissive.
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Has another person speaking for them or closely monitoring them.
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Cannot freely control their identification, money, phone, transportation, or movements.
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Appears unsure of where they are staying or how to leave.
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Has been threatened or manipulated into doing things they don't want to do.
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Is under 18 and is involved in commercial sexual activity.
You do not need to investigate the situation yourself.
Your role may simply be recognizing that something is wrong and helping connect that person with trained professionals.
S.O.S. stands for Someone Save — a call for awareness, action, and compassion when a woman, girl, or young person may be experiencing abuse, exploitation, trafficking, or danger.
Sometimes a cry for help is spoken.
Sometimes it is whispered.
Sometimes it is hidden behind fear, silence, changed behavior, or a look that says what words cannot.
S.O.S. exists to remind us that we may be the person who notices.
You do not have to be an investigator, a counselor, or an expert to care. You simply need to recognize when something may be wrong and know how to connect someone with people who are trained to help.
Someone may be waiting to be seen.
Someone may be waiting to be heard.
Someone may be waiting for help.
Someone may be waiting for someone to save them.
That is the heart of S.O.S. — Someone Save.
If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, contact 911.
For immediate assistance involving suspected human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. The Hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and provides assistance in more than 200 languages. Calls are confidential and answered by trained Anti-Trafficking Hotline Advocates. (National Human Trafficking Hotline)
You can also text 233733 or contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline through its online chat. (National Human Trafficking Hotline)
Sometimes helping someone starts with noticing what everyone else overlooked.
