Familiarize yourself with the basics of human trafficking through your trusted resources (The National Human Trafficking Resource Center). There, you can learn how to help identify potential victims by knowing the red flags and the appropriate follow up questions to ask. Encourage your family, friends, and colleagues to get educated on human trafficking.
Step 2. Take Action
Get updates on human trafficking in the local, national and international news as well as current anti-human trafficking efforts. Join or start a grassroots anti-trafficking coalition.
Be a conscientious consumer. Help reduce demand for forced labor, child labor, and exploitive labor practices. Discover your consumption on Slavery Footprint, and check out the Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.
Make company supply chains transparent. Encourage companies, including your own, to take steps to investigate and eliminate slavery and human trafficking in their supply chains and to publish the information for consumer awareness. Check to see how your favorite companies are graded for their transparency and ethical practices of their supply chain by visiting The Story Behind the Barcode.
Donate funds or needed items to an anti-trafficking organization in your area. Ask your local organization what items they may need.
Organize a fundraiser and donate the proceeds to an anti-trafficking organization. Inform the local organization what you intend to raise funds for. Be sure to consult with them about the content of the event for quality assurance purposes.
Raise awareness by hosting an event. Educate your friends, colleagues, and peers by inviting them to your awareness event. Be sure to consult with your local anti-human trafficking organization for quality assurance purposes. Watch and discuss a recent human trafficking documentary.
Incorporate human trafficking information into your professional associations’ conferences, trainings, manuals, and other materials as relevant. Consult with your local anti-trafficking coalition or task force for professional trainings.
Meet with and/or write to your local, state, and federal government representatives. Let them know that you care about combating human trafficking in your community, and ask what they are doing to address human trafficking in your area.
Start or sign a human trafficking petition. Help improve your state and local laws on human trafficking. It's quite simple, start with Raise Your Grade to improve your state's laws on sex trafficking and domestic minor sex trafficking.
Encourage your local schools to partner with students and include the issue of modern day slavery in their curriculum. As a parent, educator, or school administrator, be aware of how traffickers target school-aged children.
Step 3. Report a Tip
If you suspect that someone has been or is being trafficked and is in immediate danger call 911. You can also call the National Human Trafficking Hotline 1-888-373-7888 or text to-BeFree for services 24hrs a day 7days a week 365 days a year.
*DO NOT attempt to rescue a trafficking victim yourself- it may be unsafe for you and the victim. You have no way of knowing how the trafficker may react or retaliate against the victim and you. Victims are unlikely to accept your help. Please leave the rescue to trained professionals.
