What Trafficking Really Looks Like and Why Trust Is Where Recovery Begins

Written by Pierre Berastain

Today is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.

When many people think about human trafficking, they imagine dramatic rescues. The reality is often much quieter and far more complex.

Trafficking frequently hides in plain sight. It can involve coercion instead of chains, manipulation instead of physical force, and exploitation that unfolds over months or years. Increasingly, it begins online through grooming, false promises, and deception.

That is why responding to trafficking requires more than awareness. It requires people who know what to look for, who understand trauma, and who can meet survivors with dignity rather than judgment.

SAFE’s CARES team works alongside the Austin Police Department and many community partners to identify and respond to victims of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. This past year, SAFE served 159 survivors of trafficking and exploitation through our CARES program. Their work is demanding, often unseen, and rooted in the belief that every person deserves safety, healing, and the opportunity to reclaim their future.

SAFE is also Austin’s only 24/7 provider of sexual assault advocacy, responding to 667 survivors of sexual assault this past year. Trauma-informed advocacy is a recognized best practice for trafficking identification — when survivors are met with trust and dignity, they are better able to tell their stories fully, which helps advocates identify signs of trafficking and connect survivors to the resources they need to rebuild and recover.

Human trafficking is not only a criminal justice issue. It is a public health issue, a human rights issue, and a community responsibility.

As traffickers continue to adapt their methods, our commitment must adapt as well. That means investing in prevention, survivor-centered services, housing, advocacy, healthcare, and the partnerships that make lasting recovery possible.

On this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, I hope we recommit ourselves not only to ending exploitation, but to building communities where exploitation has fewer places to take root.