Methods of human trafficking criminals
Grooming
The perpetrator is good at finding people who are in some kind of a sensitive situation. The goal is to gain control of a person, to manipulate her into doing something, and create profit for the perpetrator.
Selection
The perpetrator chooses an individual who is in a sensitive position, for example, someone in search of a better life due to poverty or fleeing war. It could also be a foreigner who might not know the laws and regulations in the new country so agreeing to things they would never do if well informed.
Gain trust
At first, the perpetrator makes sure the victim gets everything they need. It could be housing, a phone, or other essentials the victim might need. This is done to establish trust.
Isolation
The first visible symptom of human trafficking is when the perpetrator isolates the victim, keeps them from their family, friends, or circumstances that may inform the victim that their being groomed and tricked.
Exploitation
The victim is used for work that benefits the perpetrator. This could be the lower wages than agreed or saying the wages will have to cover travel costs, medical costs, or other bills that the perpetrator has provided.
Maintaining control
The perpetrator has a lot of control over the victim at this stage: taking the victim’s passports or other important documents and threaten to hurt the victim or their family if they don’t follow orders. It is known for a perpetrator to lie to a victim of sex exploitation that prostitution is illegal in Iceland and threatens to report the victim to the police if the victim doesn’t do what he says. Selling prostitution is legal in Iceland, but selling access to another person’s body is illegal.
