How can you be sure your provider isn't being trafficked?

[Holy Macaroni]

What a strange question I know. But I was reading an article about rentboy and apparently trafficking was an issue that had occurred. This isn't a troll post. This is a genuine question. If I was to hire, how can I be sure the provider I'm seeing is doing their job out of their own free will?

[+ FrankR]

54 minutes ago, Holy Macaroni said:

What a strange question I know. But I was reading an article about rentboy and apparently trafficking was an issue that had occurred. This isn't a troll post. This is a genuine question. If I was to hire, how can I be sure the provider I'm seeing is doing their job out of their own free will?

Tough question. I would be suspicious if:

1) the provider has someone that pulls the strings (communicates for him, collects a percentage etc)

2) the provider is living with the employer when you go to a massage parlour/spa (big red flag)

3) provider is too submissive and fearful of disappointing the customer or employer

4) provider does not have ID (younger than I thought and so I asked to check age) 

5) the provider appears to be living under the poverty line (clothing/shoes show age and wear, malnourished)

6) the provider shows obvious signs of physical abuse

7) the provider shows obvious signs of drug abuse (needle marks)

 

If you encounter 1 of these it may not necessarily mean anything, but when you observe more than one and your gut tells you so…you may be facing a case of human trafficking even if it is rather subjective. There is no way to be sure, other than asking personal and invasive questions. Best advice is to hire a known provider with reviews and a good reputation.🤓

Edited June 24, 2024 by FrankR

[carolus]

Not you can, unfortunately. Not totally at least. 

Een if a person looks happy, or has no obvious physical signs of abuse, there is no guarantee that one isn't being trafficked. Not all traffickers or pimps necessarily abuse their escorts. 

Making prostitution legal alleviates this. Even in countries like the UK where it's semi-legal, this provides some legal cover. 

[maninsoma]

I'm not sure that you, as a client, are in the position to figure this out unless it's so blatantly obvious that even a moron would know something is wrong.

For example, some escorts in the past worked for a well known agency (now defunct) which took a percentage of their fee in exchange for handling inquiries, making referrals, and scheduling appointments.  This was a voluntary arrangement from what I could tell (I never saw anyone suggest that these men were somehow coerced into working for the agency).  I never quite understood why that agency was so popular in its geographic area since I'd rather communicate directly with a provider and I don't know why a provider would want to give up part of his earnings for the services being offered by the agency, but it obviously worked for some guys.  This is entirely different than someone who meets a young homeless person, sets them up with their first appointment, and then controls their bookings and cash flow.

I once hired a guy with very limited English language skills, something I did not know until I showed up for my appointment with him.  Obviously someone else communicated with me in advance to arrange the appointment and didn't let me know they weren't actually the provider I was seeking to hire.  The appointment turned out alright and I'm pretty sure the guy wasn't being exploited/trafficked; he probably just had someone else handling bookings from him due to his language issues (not speaking English fluently in a country with mostly monolingual English speakers).

Edited June 25, 2024 by maninsoma

[soloyo215]

On 6/24/2024 at 8:52 AM, Holy Macaroni said:

What a strange question I know. But I was reading an article about rentboy and apparently trafficking was an issue that had occurred. This isn't a troll post. This is a genuine question. If I was to hire, how can I be sure the provider I'm seeing is doing their job out of their own free will?

I happen to be an advocate against abuse towards men and boys in different parts of the world, and yes, there are certain concerns. A place like RM has had connection with people being in the business against their will, but it has been minimal. RM is monitored and supervised, and some other sites are also heavily monitored. Furthermore, some companies that run similar websites and other venues work in partnership with institutions such as ECPAT, which specializes in addressing the issue of exploitation of minors. Sadly, there isn't as strong of an infrastructure to protect those same children once they age out and become adults.

In my main profession, I actually designed training for healthcare providers to recognize signs of human trafficking in patients. Very difficult to do nowadays in times when everybody is ready to lynch whoever asks too many questions because they are "offensive", "intrusive", or "profiling". I know of other industries that provide such trainings, such as the airline industry.

Human trafficking also takes other forms, nut just sexual exploitation. Some men and boys are used for hard labor for no or very little money, with the threat of killing their families if they escape.

Now my experience: there is this one place in NYC where I received massages, and I noticed some things that just didn't look right, one of them being that the providers were showing certain underneath signs of submission or fear, even when they smiled. Additionally, the providers didn't speak a single word of English and were never the same; they had too many rotations.

I tried to do my own research, but I was discouraged because the place was already under investigations by the authorities, and suddenly it closed. What exactly happened, I do not know.

FrankR's list is right on point, though there are some signs that can be attributed to other factors. The one thing that I'd point is that adults are also trafficked and exploited, so the fact that the provider is a person of legal age does not imply that he could not be there against his will.

I know we come here for the fun part of the trade, but yes, there's is this nasty shadow that is, directly or indirectly, an effect of this not being a recognized profession.

Edited June 25, 2024 by soloyo215

[Holy Macaroni]

14 hours ago, soloyo215 said:

I happen to be an advocate against abuse towards men and boys in different parts of the world, and yes, there are certain concerns. A place like RM has had connection with people being in the business against their will, but it has been minimal. RM is monitored and supervised, and some other sites are also heavily monitored. Furthermore, some companies that run similar websites and other venues work in partnership with institutions such as ECPAT, which specializes in addressing the issue of exploitation of minors. Sadly, there isn't as strong of an infrastructure to protect those same children once they age out and become adults.

In my main profession, I actually designed training for healthcare providers to recognize signs of human trafficking in patients. Very difficult to do nowadays in times when everybody is ready to lynch whoever asks too many questions because they are "offensive", "intrusive", or "profiling". I know of other industries that provide such trainings, such as the airline industry.

Human trafficking also takes other forms, nut just sexual exploitation. Some men and boys are used for hard labor for no or very little money, with the threat of killing their families if they escape.

Now my experience: there is this one place in NYC where I received massages, and I noticed some things that just didn't look right, one of them being that the providers were showing certain underneath signs of submission or fear, even when they smiled. Additionally, the providers didn't speak a single word of English and were never the same; they had too many rotations.

I tried to do my own research, but I was discouraged because the place was already under investigations by the authorities, and suddenly it closed. What exactly happened, I do not know.

FrankR's list is right on point, though there are some signs that can be attributed to other factors. The one thing that I'd point is that adults are also trafficked and exploited, so the fact that the provider is a person of legal age does not imply that he could not be there against his will.

I know we come here for the fun part of the trade, but yes, there's is this nasty shadow that is, directly or indirectly, an effect of this not being a recognized profession.

Thank you so much!! And I agree even though we come here for the fun of it, we should be aware of these issues.