Human Trafficking

The United Nations defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by improper means (such as force, abduction, fraud, or coercion) for an improper purpose including forced labor or sexual exploitation.

Sex trafficking

Under the Federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), sex trafficking is recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, obtaining, advertising, maintaining, patronizing, or soliciting a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act, when that commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud or coercion.

Common types include escort services, pornography, illicit massage businesses, brothels, outdoor solicitation.

Traffickers use threats, manipulation, lies, debt bondage, and other forms of coercion to compel adults and children to engage in commercial sex acts against their will.

Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST)

is the commercial sexual abuse and exploitation of minors through buying, trading, selling or facilitating the sale of their sex act. DMST involves Americans and lawful permanent residents who are used in the commercial sex industry and are under 18 years of age at the time of victimization.

Commercial Sexual exploitation (CSE)

Is a term to describe those who sell or trade sex to meet survival needs, or in which vulnerability is exploited by a buyer, trafficker or pimp. It includes all forms of sexual exploitation for profit, including escort, street and brothel prostitution, as well as pornography, and stripping. Anytime payment is exchanged for some kind of sexual objectification of another person it’s considered CSE.

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC)

This term refers to a range of crimes and activities involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of a child for the financial benefit of any person or in exchange for anything of value (including monetary and non-monetary benefits) given or received by any person.

Labor Trafficking

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) defines labor trafficking as: “The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery” (22 USC § 7102(9))