Human Trafficking

The resources below will lead you to vetted resources and information to help you better understand the reality of human trafficking in our community, as well as tools to help you start the conversation about trafficking.

The legal definition of human trafficking: “is a crime that involves exploiting a person for labor, services, or commercial sex.” These are transactional activities for which someone would expect compensation (whether materialistic or financial). It is important that we educate ourselves about the realities of trafficking and the harm of misinformation dispersed by various forms of media. For instance, human trafficking is rooted in power and control.

• •Traffickers will utilize force, coercion, and fraud to benefit from the services provided by victims.

• Most survivors and victims have a pre-existing relationship (romantic, platonic, familial, working, etc.) with their traffickers.

• There are no specific ways to identify a victim/survivor (i.e. black dots on hand, barcode tattoos, hand signals, etc.).

• Many times, victims and survivors don't realize they are being trafficked, because it does NOT look like what we see in movies.

• While it is true that traffickers do not discriminate who they chose to target, they do tend to focus on certain marginalized populations. These individuals include but are not limited to those in foster care, undocumented, unhoused, living with substance use disorders, and other high-risk populations.

Below you will also find contact information for organizations who address human trafficking in our community, as well as ways that you can help organizations in your community support survivors and victims of human trafficking.