A few key points:
- It is estimated there are many millions of human trafficking victims worldwide. Women and girls are disproportionately affected (International Labor Organization, 2017).
- The Americas (Latin America, the Caribbean, the U.S. and Canada) had the lowest estimates of human trafficking, but still have an estimated almost 1.3 million labor/sex trafficking victims (8.7 Alliance, 2017).
- In the United States, sex trafficking is reported and investigated more frequently than labor trafficking (Banks & Kyckelhahn, 2011).
- It is estimated that human trafficking is second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable form of transnational crime (Blue Campaign).
- More men than women are reported as human traffickers. However, males and females can both be victims and traffickers. (Polaris, 2018).
- The majority of individuals who are victims of human trafficking in the United States are U.S. citizens. However, victims can come/be brought from other countries. (Polaris, 2018)
- Victims of human trafficking can come from any background—they can be any age, gender, race or immigration status (Blue Campaign). However, some groups are particularly at risk for targeting by human traffickers and trafficking victimization (Polaris, 2018):
- Youth, particularly those in child welfare systems, those who are considered runaways or homeless, those who lack a supportive/stable home life and those who are exposed to family abuse or neglect
- Those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT)
- Foreign nationals/undocumented individuals
- People with drug addictions
- People who lack socioeconomic resources
- Chronically homeless people
- Unemployed or those in jobs that lack strong labor protections (e.g., door-to-door sales, farm work)
- Those with a large amount of unpaid debt
- Those with medical and mental health conditions
- Victims of domestic violence/sexual assault or abuse as a child
- Incarcerated individuals
- Traffickers can be lone individuals or in extensive criminal networks. Pimps, gangs, family members, intimate partners, labor brokers, employers of domestic servants, small business owners and large factory owners have all been found guilty of human trafficking. Also, traffickers and their victims often share the same national, ethnic or cultural background, allowing traffickers to better understand and exploit victims’ vulnerabilities (Polaris, 2018).
- Human traffickers lure and ensnare people into forced labor and commercial sex acts by identifying and exploiting their vulnerabilities.
- Human traffickers often leverage their victims’ vulnerabilities in order to create dependency. They make false promises aimed at addressing their victims’ needs in order to impose control. As a result, victims become trapped and fear leaving for many reasons, Human traffickers’ tactics used to control victims are similar to tactics used by domestic abusers.
- In some cases, human traffickers simply kidnap victims or use violence or substance abuse to control them.
- In the case of foreign national victims, human traffickers may control and manipulate these individuals by leveraging the non-portability of many work visas as well as the victims’ lack of familiarity with surroundings, laws and rights, language fluency and cultural understanding.
- Human traffickers will often use the Internet and social media to connect with and recruit victims. Many victims also report that traffickers advertised their services online.
The information in this section is drawn from a WVFRIS Sexual Assault Services Training Academy (SASTA) course, Human Trafficking 101 for Advocates.