Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is when a person is forced or tricked into working in terrible conditions. Victims of human trafficking may be kidnapped, for example. They also may be lured with false promises of a better life in a new country. A person who is trafficked may be drugged, locked up, beaten, starved, or made to work for many hours a day. Types of work a trafficked person may be forced to do include prostitution, farm work, cleaning, childcare, or sweatshop work.

Ways traffickers control a woman may include:

  • Making her work to pay back money they say she owes them
  • Threatening to hurt her or her family
  • Threatening to have her deported
  • Taking away her passport, birth certificate, or ID card
  • Preventing her from having contact with friends, family, or the outside world

Sometimes, a woman may end up trafficked after being forced to marry someone against her will. In a forced marriage, a woman’s husband and his family can have great control over her life. They may then place her in domestic or sexual slavery against her will.

Help for victims of human trafficking

If you think you have come in contact with a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline at 888-373-7888. Hotline staff can help you figure out if you have seen a victim of human trafficking and can suggest local resources.

Anyone who is brought into the United States for forced labor may be able to get a special visa and other help rebuilding their lives.

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