Do you know the universal sign for "I need help?"

I still do not understand the point unless there is specific advice on how anyone who sees the gesture should respond. In fact it could raise the hopes of the coerced individual to expect that help will be forthcoming when it might not be.

I've known this for many years.

Thank you, Magenta8, I did not know that.

If I saw this I think I would try to follow the couple far enough back that I could ring the police at the same time. I could update the police about where they were.

I was aware of it, I have seen it at some point in facebook reels

Yes I know of it

I would love to see this tried out by a journalist to see how many random strangers actually responded, and if so how.

I have also wondered how it would be possible to help victims of modern slavery - for instance in nail bars or car washes, How find out if they are indeed victims and then what would help them? Go quietly and report the place to the police? it would be good to help - but hard to be sure what would be the best and safest way to act.

The tappping and closing hand behind back is shown on social media, and seems filmed mainly in USA towns and cities.

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Reported.

As more and more people become aware of these signs, surely the abusers will also hear about them and watch out for them.

I have never heard of it .The chances are that the person would not know why they had been touched w.could not want to get involved anyway.

i knew about the ask angela, they have videos on youtube and are for male and females to ask for help, the other one i learned from youtube as i had seen videos made as social experiments to make people aware when someone needs help.

Quercus

I would love to see this tried out by a journalist to see how many random strangers actually responded, and if so how.

I saw some youngsters doing it on YouTube.

One girl responded by rushing back, throwing her arms around the girl and making a fuss of her as if she was a long lost friend. The 'abductor' started making a fuss and trying to pull the 'abductee' away then pretended to run off.

An older woman just brushed her shoulder where she had been bumped and gave the girl a glare. She probably didn't even recognise the sign and thought the girl had rudely bumped into her.

In another one was a girl being pushed into a car. A passing couple saw the help sign and both rushed to help - the man looked like he was going to beat the 'abductor' to a pulp before they owned up to what was happening.

I don't think people are expected to rush in and help - just take notice and report it to bring help.

If you notice the sign the best initial response would probably to greet the young woman as if she were someone you knew but hadn’t seen recently. Some men might be put off by that, others, I realise, would not be. More than once I have been approached on trains by young women asking quietly to sit next to me as some random man was bothering them. I immediately chatted away as though she were a friend of my family. Also at my local bus stop a teenaged girl asked me to walk with her as two other girls had got off the bus with the intention of bullying her. I didn’t recognise her but she may have known me by sight as she turned out to live on the same road.
I am glad those young women felt confident enough to ask for help.