OAG's Human Trafficking Awareness Poster (English)

This fact sheet is also available in Amharic, Chinese, French, Korean, Vietnamese and Spanish.

Download this sex trafficking awareness poster in English and Spanish.

How You Can Help the District Combat Human Trafficking

What is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery and a serious crime. Traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to make victims engage in labor or commercial sexual exploitation.

Every year, millions of people are trafficked around the world, including our own neighborhoods in the District of Columbia. Human trafficking is the second largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world, second only to drug trafficking. Here are some important facts:

• Children account for half of the victims of human trafficking. In fact, the average age that a young person becomes involved in sex trafficking is 12 years old. If the victim is a minor, no force, fraud, or coercion is necessary to prove trafficking. Any youth under the age of 18 who is involved in a commercial sex act is considered to be a victim of trafficking.
   
• Sex traffickers prey on vulnerable people, especially young people, and often lure them with promises of protection, love, or adventure. They may contact potential victims through social media or approach them at clubs and bars, at school, in malls, or in metro stations.
   
• Labor trafficking includes situations of debt bondage, forced labor, and involuntary child labor. Common types of labor trafficking include people forced to work in homes as domestic servants and factory workers held in inhumane conditions with little to no pay.
   
• Victims of human trafficking are often afraid to come forward and unable to leave traffickers because of trauma, physical violence, fear of harm to their families, having nowhere else to go, or a distrust of authority figures.

If you learn to recognize the warning signs of human trafficking, you could help save a life.

Red Flags and Warning Signs

The sale of children for sex occurs worldwide, and unfortunately even happens here in the District of Columbia. If you learn to recognize the signs of human trafficking, you could help to save someone’s life.

Sex trafficking warning signs include:

• Running away from home;
• Truancy/not attending school;
• Possessing cell phones that they did not purchase on their own
• Making purchases with credit cards that do not belong to them
• Older boyfriends
• Signs of physical abuse such as burn marks, bruises, or cuts
• New tattoos (traffickers often use tattoos as a form of branding)
• Signs of gang affiliation.

Labor trafficking warning signs include:

• Is unpaid, paid very little, or paid only through tips;
• Works excessively long or unusual hours;
• Is not free to leave or come and go as he/she wishes;
• Owes a large debt and is unable to pay it off;
• Withholds of documents such as passport/security card; and
• High security measures exist in the work or living locations (e.g. opaque windows, barbed wire, security cameras, etc.)​

What can you do to help?

Be alert for the signs of human trafficking. If you do see signs, do not attempt to confront suspected traffickers or victims, but please do alert the authorities.

To get help if you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking:

• Call the National Human Trafficking Hotline: at 1-888-373-7888
• Or Text “Help” to 233733 (BeFree)

Under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, child sexual exploitation is a form of child abuse. If you believe you have information about a potential child trafficking situation in the District of Columbia:

• Call the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 202-671- SAFE (7233)

What is the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) doing to combat human trafficking?

OAG attorneys know that young people involved in the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice systems are especially vulnerable to sex trafficking and have worked on behalf of victims who have been forced to exchange sex for money, food, shelter, and clothing. The Attorney General has prioritized this issue through citywide collaboration and prevention education.

The Public Safety and Family Services Divisions within OAG participate in a multi-disciplinary team that reviews cases involving youth that are involved in commercial sexual exploitation, or at risk of becoming involved. The team meets monthly to review each case and recommends services such as medical exams, mental health services, and support groups. This collaboration ensures that youth who are victims of trafficking get identified and get help.

The Office of the Attorney General is also expanding efforts to educate communities and reach out to youth to prevent involvement in human trafficking and encourage reporting it.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Information about predatory mortgage lending warning signs and how consumers can protect themselves.

For further information you may contact OAG's Ethics Counsel Elaine Block at elaine.block2@dc.gov or (202) 724-5198 or, if you work at an agency other than the Office of the Attorney General, you may also contact your own agency ethics counselor (listed at the end of the District Ethics Manual).

In addition, you may contact BEGA at (202) 481-3411 to speak to one of the BEGA attorneys, or you may email BEGA at bega@dc.gov. You may also refer to the District Ethics Manual, and BEGA’s Advisory Opinions, available on BEGA’s website.

Lawyers are also subject to DC Bar’s Rules of Professional Responsibility. Some of these address matters also covered by the Code of Conduct, notably those involving conflicts of interest. Attorneys must comply with both the DC Bar Rules and the Code of Conduct.

For more information about the DC Bar Rules, please contact Ethics Counsel Elaine Block, at (202) 724-5198 or elaine.block2@dc.gov.

You may also contact the DC Bar’s legal ethics counselors for informal legal advice related to the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct. To request such advice, you may call (202) 737-4700 ext. 3231 or 3232, or send an email request to ethics@dcbar.org.

Federal law also contains ethics restrictions that apply to District government employees. Title 18, Section 207, of the United States Code limits the extent to which a former government employee may work on a matter related to his or her District employment.

Title 18, Section 208, of the United States Code prohibits District employees from making decisions on matters in which the employee, or the employee’s spouse or child has a financial interest or that affects an organization for which the employee services an officer, director, or in which he or she has some other interest.

Violations of either of these provisions is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years, or a fine of up to $50,000 (or the amount of any compensation unlawfully obtained, whichever is greater) or both. For further information, please refer to the Ethics Manual available on BEGA’s website at http://bega.dc.gov. 

Congress and the Council of the District of Columbia have changed the restrictions on political activity by District government employees. Previously, District employees were subject to the same restrictions that applied to federal employees under a federal law known as the Hatch Act. Congress repealed this provision and the Council enacted local legislation regulating political activity of District employees.

For more information about what political activities are permitted, and what is prohibited, refer the District Ethics Manual available on BEGA’s website at http://bega.dc.gov. 

District government employees (other than court employees) are required to comply with the District’s Code of Conduct. The Code of conduct consists of various laws and regulations that limit many aspects of employee behavior including, but not limited to:

• Engaging in outside employment.
• Giving and receiving gifts.
• Using government resources for non-government purposes.
• Showing favoritism while performing your job.
• Leaving your government job and taking a new job that is related to your government job.
• Having a conflict of interest related to your job.
• Engaging in partisan political activity while employed by the District.

Note: All OAG employees and OAG volunteers must receive approval from the Attorney General before working at any outside employment. Contact the OAG Ethics Advisor for further details

BEGA and Violations

The DC Code of Conduct is enforced by the District’s Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA). For a copy of the manual and additional information about BEGA, see their website at http://bega.dc.gov.

Violations of the Code of Conduct are subject to penalties ranging from an informal admonition, to a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation (or three times the amount of any money improperly paid), or referral for criminal prosecution.

In addition, BEGA advises District employees on the Code of Conduct and its enforcement. If an employee submits a formal request , that advice provides a “safe harbor”. This means that no enforcement action will be taken by BEGA against an employee if the employee fully and accurately disclosed all relevant circumstances and information in seeking the advisory opinion, and the employee complies with the terms of the advisory opinion.

Note: Ethics counselors at OAG cannot provide this special type of advice; BEGA is the only entity that can provide safe harbor advice.

How to apply: 

All applications must be submitted by visiting OAG Jobvite Careers page and via an on-line application questionnaire.  Thank you. 

For inquiries, email can be sent to:

oaghr@dc.gov (please reference the OAG Jobvite Careers page Job requisition number in subject line)

Disposition of Resumes

APPLICANTS WILL ONLY BE NOTIFIED IF AN INTERVIEW IS GRANTED. Resumes received outside the area of consideration and/or after the closing date will not be given consideration.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The District of Columbia Government is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, matriculation, physical handicap, or political affiliation.

HOW TO APPLY: 

All applications must be submitted by visiting OAG Jobvite Careers page and via an on-line application questionnaire.  Thank you. 

For specific questions or inquiries regarding all Attorney positions, please contact Joy Dorsey:

oaghr@dc.gov (please reference the OAG Jobvite Careers page Job requisition number in subject line)

CURRENT LAW SCHOOL STUDENTS AND RECENT GRADUATES

We cannot actively consider you for an attorney position until you have passed the DC Bar or the Bar of another state and you are waiver eligible.

Disposition of Resumes

APPLICANTS WILL ONLY BE NOTIFIED IF AN INTERVIEW IS GRANTED. Resumes received outside the area of consideration and/or after the closing date will not be given consideration.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The District of Columbia Government is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, matriculation, physical handicap, or political affiliation.