What is Human Trafficking?

When people think about slavery, they usually think of the traditional chattel slavery that was seen in America's past. That form does still exist in certain countries, but slavery has evolved, and now most often occurs in these forms:

BONDED LABOR: People become bonded laborers by taking or being tricked into taking a loan for as little as the cost of medicine for a sick child. To repay the debt, many are forced to work long hours, often all year long. They receive basic food and shelter as "payment" for their work, but many may never pay off the loan, which can be passed down for generations.

FORCED LABOR: People are illegally recruited by individuals, governments or political parties and forced to work, usually under the threat of violence or other penalties.

TRAFFICKING: The transport and/or trade of women, children and men from one area to another for the purpose of forcing them into conditions of slavery. Human trafficking ranks as the second largest criminal industry globally, second only to drug smuggling, and equal with illegal weapons transactions.


According to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and its 2003, 2005, and 2008 re-authorizations, human trafficking has occurred if a person was induced to perform labor or a commercial sex act through force, fraud, or coercion. Any person under age 18 who performs a commercial sex act is considered a victim of human trafficking, regardless of whether force, fraud, or coercion was present.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) funded the creation of the Human Trafficking Reporting System (HTRS). This system provides data on human trafficking incidents investigated by federally funded task forces.

An incident is defined as any investigation into a claim of human trafficking or any investigation of other crimes in which elements of potential human trafficking were identified.

Summary Findings

Federally funded task forces opened 2,515 suspected incidents of human trafficking for investigation between January 2008 and June 2010. Federal agencies were more likely to lead labor trafficking investigations (29%) than sex trafficking investigations (7%). Among the 389 incidents confirmed to be human trafficking by high data quality task forces:

• There were 488 suspects and 527 victims.
• More than half (62%) of the confirmed labor trafficking victims were age 25 or older, compared to 13% of confirmed sex trafficking victims.
• Confirmed sex trafficking victims were more likely to be white (26%) or black (40%), compared to labor trafficking victims, who were more likely to be Hispanic (63%) or Asian (17%).
• Four-fifths of victims (83%) in confirmed sex trafficking incidents were identified as U.S. citizens, while most confirmed labor trafficking victims were identified as undocumented aliens (67%) or qualified aliens (28%).
• Most confirmed human trafficking suspects were male (81%). More than half (62%) of confirmed sex trafficking suspects were identified as black, while confirmed labor trafficking suspects were more likely to be identified as Hispanic (48%).