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An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

T-VSTTA

Tribal Victim Services Training and Technical Assistance

Human Trafficking

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Human trafficking involves compelling a person to perform forced commercial sex or labor. It is also considered trafficking if a person under the age of 18 is given anything of value for commercial sex. Below are the federal definitions—state and Tribal definitions may be different.  

Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age (22 USC § 7102). 

Labor trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery, (22 USC § 7102). 

While there is no defining characteristic of a human trafficking victim, traffickers often look for victims with noticeable vulnerabilities such as lack of social support networks, or financial or housing insecurity, substance abuse, and jurisdictional complexities.  

Victim service providers can support survivors of human trafficking in their healing though trauma-responsive, culturally appropriate, and healing-centered services. 

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Increasing Community Knowledge About Human Trafficking 

Human trafficking is an underreported crime affecting all communities and all generations.  

Control and coercion are often present in human trafficking situations regardless of a victim’s age making it difficult for them to seek support or services. To improve your ability to reach relatives in human trafficking situations, use the links below to learn more about human trafficking, strengthen partnerships, and educate your community.