Travel Tips to Help Stop Human Trafficking

While dream vacations may not exactly be a thing this summer (thanks COVID-19), I do expect a vast majority of people will still make travel plans whether it’s a staycation, across state lines or traveling abroad. Even though the world has been on pause due to the Corona Virus, human trafficking hasn’t been and is frankly alive and well. All too well honestly, and it needs to STOP! If you are reading this, then you can help make it STOP! Stay alert when traveling locally or abroad and make responsible, smart decisions to avoid falling victim to ruthless human traffickers.

The banning of many summer festivals along with countless state and county fairs this summer will not stop a trafficker from getting what they want, and what they want is you, and/or your child, or your best friend or your neighbor, so be alert. Keep your eyes out for those already being trafficked in airports, at hotels, in a shared Uber ride, or sitting next to you on the bus, etc., and above all else watch out for yourself and those who may be travelling with you.

If you plan to travel this summer or at any time please consider the following safety tips and know your surroundings. Don’t let one second of a whimsical vacation leave you with your guard down only to fall victim to human trafficking.

First, know the facts. Before travelling make sure you are informed about the prevalence of human trafficking, what warning signs to look for, and what steps you can take should you find yourself in a precarious situation.

While traveling is meant to be fun and cultural, always be aware of strangers. Sex traffickers often seem harmless and charming even. They might be well-dressed, young, and good looking. Don’t ever tell a stranger your full name or where you are going, or if you are staying alone.

If traveling abroad, protect your passport. Do not give your passport to anyone to keep or hold on to and make sure you keep a copy of your passport information in a safe place where only you know where it is.

Avoid traveling alone, especially at night, or on deserted side streets. If you think you are being followed, find a crowded place and do not hesitate to alert police to your suspicions, and give friends and family members a description of the potential perpetrator.

Should you find yourself in a precarious situation involving a potential trafficking incident, know how to protect and defend yourself. Traffickers, whatever their objectives, are looking for unsuspecting, vulnerable targets. What they don’t necessarily expect, or want, is for you to fight back. They want control of you and will go to great lengths to get it, so fight as hard as you can and get away and report it as soon as possible.

Should you find yourself in a precarious situation involving a potential trafficking incident, know how to protect and defend yourself. Traffickers, whatever their objectives, are looking for unsuspecting, vulnerable targets. What they don’t necessarily expect, or want, is for you to fight back. They want control of you and will go to great lengths to get it, so fight as hard as you can and get away and report it as soon as possible.

Women’s self-defense expert, Su Ericksen, is a first degree TaeKwonDo black belt and has taught self-defense workshops and offers techniques for striking these pressure points so you can defend yourself and get to safety. She writes:

When you’re in a confrontation with your attacker/potential trafficker you only have a few seconds and a few moves to try before the fight may be decided. Before an attacker has gained full control of you, you must do everything you can—conserving as much energy as possible—to inflict injury so you can get away. (This is no time to be civil. In a physical confrontation that calls for self-defense, it’s hurt or be hurt.) So aim for the parts of the body where you can do the most damage easily: the eyes, nose, ears, neck, groin, knee, and legs.

Depending on the position of the attacker and how close he is will determine where you will strike and with what part of your body you will employ. Do not step in closer, say, to strike his nose with your hand, when you can reach his knee with a kick.

Eyes: Gouging, poking, or scratching the attacker’s eyes with your fingers or knuckles would be effective, as you can imagine. Besides causing a lot of pain, this should also make your escape easier by at least temporarily interfering with his vision.

Nose: If the attacker is close in front of you, use the heel of your palm to strike up under his nose; throw the whole weight of your body into the move to cause the most pain and force him to loosen his grip on you. If he’s behind you, you can strike his nose (from the side or front) with your elbow. Either way, aim for the nasal bones.

Neck: The side of the neck is a bigger target, where both the carotid artery and jugular vein are located. You could possibly temporarily stun your attacker with a knife hand strike (all fingers held straight and tightly together, with thumb tucked and slightly bent at the knuckle) at the side of the neck. (For even more injury, you could thrust your elbow into your assailant’s throat while pitching the weight of your body forward.

Knee: Su says the knee is an ideal self-defense target, vulnerable from every angle and easily kicked without risk of your foot being grabbed. Kick the side of the knee to cause injury or partially incapacitate your attacker. Kicking the front of the knee may cause more injury but is less likely to result in imbalance.

Use everyday objects. Everyday objects you carry around with you or things in your environment can also be used to your advantage as weapons. Hold a key or pen between your middle and ring finger while you’re walking home in the dark for more assurance. Outdoors, you can toss some dirt or sand into your attacker’s eyes. Women are often told to spray perfume or hairspray into an assailant’s eyes. The point is, use whatever you can to make your defense stronger (for more inspiration, watch some Jackie Chan movies).

Leverage your weight. No matter your size, weight, or strength in relation to your opponent, you can defend yourself by strategically using your body and the simple law of physics. This is the principle behind martial arts systems like Jujitsu and other self-defense programs where a smaller person is able to defeat a larger one.

When striking a target on the upper half of the body you will use your hand. Effective strikes can be made with the outer edge of your hand in a knife hand position, a palm strike or knuckle blow for softer targets or a tightly curled fist.

Ultimately, there are four phases to nearly all attacks on women: 1) Identify an unsuspecting target, 2) Subdue the target, 3) Exhaust the target, and 4) Execute the assault. So fight with all your might but remember all he wants to do is exhaust you and gain complete control so don’t fall into that trap.

Hopefully with the self-defense tactics Su Ericksen describes above will help protect you or at least help you feel safer and more confident when traveling or in everyday situations you might incur. Keep in mind there is no replacement however, for actually taking a self-defense class and practicing the moves in real life. There are many options to finding self-defense classes such as women’s centers, local colleges or community colleges and often times local law enforcement agencies offer self-defense classes to its community members.

However, the class I highly recommend is C.O.B.R.A. Self-Defense as it is a real world self-defense training program and I personally have had experience training with them. I felt so empowered and am more confident knowing that I could fight back against an attacker. Nothing is guaranteed of course, but doing nothing to protect yourself also constitutes a not-so-good guarantee. Be alert, always! For more information about C.O.B.R.A. Self-Defense, click here. (https://www.cobradefensesystem.com/)

If you are or believe you have identified someone in a trafficking situation, you can take action. Call 911 immediately to notify local law enforcement. You may also call the human trafficking hotlines in Canada and the United States by dialling the numbers below. Both hotlines are open 24/7/365 days of the year and provide services in over 200 languages.