Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a crime under both federal and state law which involves recruiting, transporting and/or holding someone in emotional and physical bondage for the purpose of exploitation. Human trafficking is the broader term for two different categories that sometimes coincide.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) defines these categories of trafficking as:
Labor Trafficking:The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
Sex Trafficking: The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for commercial sex acts, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person forced to perform such an act is under the age of 18 years.
Force
Traffickers may use force to maintain power and control over their victim(s). Examples of force include:
- Physical abuse
- Sexual assault
- Confinement
- Emotional abuse
Fraud
A tactic used by exploiters to lure victims is fraud. Examples of fraud include:
- Deception
- False promises
- Lying
- Financial abuse
Coercion
Traffickers are experts at coercion, which is the practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats. Examples of coercion include:
- Threats
- Intimidation
- Forced criminality
- Introducing addictive substances
What could this look like?
- Being pressured into trading sex for a couch to sleep on or for rent money, a meal, clothing, or other basic needs.
- Someone taking explicit photos without your consent to advertise availability for sex online.
- Being pressured to have sex with someone’s friends in exchange for money.
- Being involved in any commercial sex act or production of any sexualized images as a minor.
Myths & Facts
- MYTH: Traffickers target victims they don't know.
FACT: Often survivors are groomed and targeted by someone they know and trust. “Many survivors have been trafficked by romantic partners, including spouses, and by family members, including parents,” (Polaris Project).
- MYTH: Only women and girls can be victims and survivors of sex trafficking.
FACT: Men and boys are also victimized by sex traffickers. 2SLGBTQIA+ boys and young men are seen as particularly vulnerable to trafficking (Polaris Project).
- MYTH: Human trafficking involves moving, traveling or transporting a person across state or national borders.
FACT: Human trafficking is often confused with human smuggling, which involves illegal border crossings. In fact, the crime of human trafficking does not require any movement whatsoever. Survivors can be recruited and trafficked in their own home towns, even their own homes (Polaris Project).
- MYTH: People being trafficked are physically unable to leave their situations as they are held against their will.
FACT:That is sometimes the case. More often, however, people in trafficking situations stay for reasons that are more complicated. Some lack the basic necessities to physically get out – such as transportation or a safe place to live. Some are afraid for their safety. Some have been so effectively manipulated that they do not identify at that point as being under the control of another person (Polaris Project).
Who is at risk?
Exploitation and trafficking does not discriminate as traffickers may target anyone. Groups or populations that may be more at increased risk include:
- Unstable living situation
- Undocumented immigrants
- History of substance use
- Unmet need for survival
- Involvement in juvenile justice or foster care systems
How does the media get it wrong?
Human trafficking is commonly believed to include elements of kidnapping, abduction, and travel. This is because the media surrounding human trafficking is sensationalized, provoking public interest at the expense of accuracy. When society believes these myths, it perpetuates violence as communities fail to recognize when human trafficking is taking place.
Most often, a trafficker is someone known to the victim, either an intimate partner, family member, or employer who uses trust in the relationship to coerce and manipulate the victim into exploitative activities. Human trafficking does not always involve travel, though it may be used as a tactic of isolation. Someone can be trafficked without ever leaving their home or community.
