Human Trafficking

To request help or report suspected human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Or text INFO or HELP to: BeFree (233733).

Human Trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transporting, obtaining or maintaining of a person by means of:

FORCE (rape, beatings, constraint, confinement, torture)

FRAUD (false, or deceptive offers)

COERCION (threats of serious harm; any threat intended to make victim believe that failure to comply would result in retaliation) for the purpose of a commercial sex act, or in which the person induced to perform such an act is under 18 years of age. 

Human Trafficking is simply a politically correct phrase for what is Modern Day Slavery.  

Human Trafficking includes:  

  • Sex Trafficking- victim forced into commercial sex trade against their will.
  • Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) – forced sexual services of children
  • Labor Trafficking- forced labor or services in Domestic Servitude, Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Construction, Factories, Service Industry, Hotels, Restaurants, Nail Salons and more.

Facts...

*  There are more enslaved people alive today than any other time in history. Even more slaves exist now – than during the 300+ years of the transatlantic slave trade. There are roughly 30 million people held & abused today, against their will.

*  According to the International Labor Organization human trafficking generates $150.2 Billion dollars in illegal profits each year. Of that total, $51.2 Billion comes from forced labor and $99 Billion from sexual exploitation. 

*  After Drug Trafficking, Human Trafficking is now tied with the illegal arms trade as the 2nd largest criminal industry in the world.

There are certain cultural and environmental factors that make an individual more susceptible to being trafficked.

• Female

•Young Age

•Poverty/Lower Socioeconomic Class

•Limited Education

•Lack of Work Opportunities in the Area

•Lack of Family Support

•Previous Sexual Abuse

•Lack of Knowledge of Schemes Used by Pimps/Traffickers

There is a difference between Human Smuggling and Human Trafficking.  Human Smuggling is a crime against a country by transporting an item deemed illegal by the destination country into the country. Human Trafficking is a crime against a person by using force, fraud or coercion to induce a commercial sex act or labor.