threat when a person has been removed from their family and culture. It prevents them from trying to disobey the trafficker, but also makes them believe that even if they managed to escape, it would not be safe for them to return to their family and community. A South Asian man trafficked for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation Sahil tried to get away from the trafficker who had raped and sexually abused him in the UK by returning to his country in Asia. With some difficulty he persuaded the trafficker that his father had fallen ill and that he had to see him, so the trafficker took him back to his own country for a visit. When Sahil then tried to say that he did not want to return to the UK with him, the trafficker threatened to tell his family and friends that he had had sex with him. He therefore felt that he had no choice to go back and continue living under the control of the trafficker. Sahil says that in his culture, men who are sexually assaulted are expected to kill themselves. The threat of being exposed on the Internet is an effective way of controlling victims of trafficking who fear the humiliation and exposure across the world that this implies. It can deter victims from coming forward to the authorities or fully disclosing their trafficking experiences. An East African woman trafficked for sexual exploitation The men were violent and Kizza believes that they probably filmed her, as there were cameras and similar equipment kept in the room. Once, she was threatened that films of her working in forced prostitution would be shown to her children. Victims who have already been compromised on the Internet are afraid of being associated with their images on websites. The Internet is widely used to lure victims for trafficking and also to attract customers of prostitutes.43 HBF works with victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation who have had their images revealed in photographs, films and classified adverts posted on the web. Some women say that customers of prostitutes have recognized them from images/videos on the Internet or have become aware of their Trafficking in human beings: Internet recruitment Group of specialists on the impact of the use of new information technologies on trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation 43 availability as prostitutes through advertisements placed on websites. Others express the fear that they may have been filmed without their knowledge or that this could happen to them in the future. An East African woman who was trafficked for sexual exploitation Jana and her family have been threatened with the publication of compromising photographs and videos of her which were taken against her will when she was held in forced prostitution. She fears that if she is returned to her country of origin she will suffer disgrace and stigmatization. She was told by customers of prostitutes that they had already seen her on the Internet. She dropped charges of domestic violence against her trafficker in the UK because he was blackmailing her with the threat of Internet exposure. Some victims of trafficking have previously suffered, or feared, persecution, imprisonment, torture, acts of corruption 44, rape or trafficking at the hands of the authorities in their country of origin. Therefore they may have no understanding or belief that the authorities in other countries will act any differently.45 They fear being returned to countries where they believe the authorities will fail to protect them from traffickers or will subject them to further harm. An East African woman who was trafficked for sexual exploitation, expressing fears of her traffickers attacking her and her family. “In my country, money is all that matters – the police will look the other way, even with murder if you have money.” 44 Harv. JL & Gender, “Corruption also plays a significant role in sex trafficking. In the rare cases in which victims seek police assistance, they often find that police are complicit in sex trafficking. In source and destination countries around the world, there are documented cases of corruption and complicity by law enforcement and government officials; traffickers often bribe police officers, visa officials, and border patrollers. Rather than receiving help from local authorities, victims are ignored or arrested for being illegal aliens, held in deportation centers, and ultimately deported.”; “Corruption Perceptions Index” “Weak institutions offer weak protection. Pay-offs to police, courts and other public sector officials result in state institutions being willing to turn a blind eye to trafficking gangs or even to participate in them. Studies show that victims tend to come from countries where the public sector is perceived to be highly corrupt, as measured by our Corruption Perceptions Index.” Guidelines on International Protection No. 7: The Application of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees to Victims of Trafficking and Persons At Risk of Being Trafficked, 67