Possible Indicators That a Person Is a Trafficking Victim

Does the individual …?

■ Live on or very close to the work premises ■ Bunk in a sparse place with many other occupants ■ Lack personal space and possessions ■ Frequently move from one work site to another ■ Appear unfamiliar with how to get around the neighborhood ■ Seem unable to travel around freely ■ Admit that he/she cannot socialize with outsiders and attend religious services ■ Disclose that he/she was recruited for one line of work but then was compelled to perform other tasks ■ Confide that earnings are garnished and held by someone else ■ Indicate that identification and travel documents are held by someone else ■ Appear to have been coached about what to say to immigration and police officers ■ Seem unable to talk openly and to communicate freely with family and friends ■ Look injured from beatings or show signs of malnourishment or lack of medical treatment ■ Defer to someone else who insists on speaking or interpreting for him/her ■ Claim to be represented by the same attorney that handles the cases of many other

undocumented workers (illegal aliens)

SOURCES: Blue Campaign, 2010; Walker-Rodriguez and Hill, 2011.

T H E R E D I S C OV ER Y OF C R I M E VI CT I M S 63

F O S T E R , C E D R I C 1 6 9 2 T S

SUMMARY

Laws that recognized that individuals harmed by offen- ders deserved governmental support and economic aid were passed centuries ago, but until the middle of the twentieth century, the plight of crime victims was largely overlooked, even by most criminologists.

Today, the plight of victims is being brought to the public’s attention by journalists covering the crime beat, social movements mobilizing in behalf of certain individuals and groups who embody their causes and agendas, elected officials seeking voters’ support, and commercial interests advertising pro- ducts and services to guard against victimization.

The rediscovery process goes through four stages. After a group’s plight becomes known and reforms are implemented, an opposition frequently arises that resists further changes that might be to the group’s advantage. When conflicts arise, victi- mologists can help resolve them by studying how seriously these newly rediscovered groups actually suffer, if their numbers are really growing or declin- ing, and whether reform measures and efforts designed to assist them are genuinely working as intended.