Human Trafficking

As Pope Francis has stated: "Human Trafficking is an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ." Trafficking Persons is a gross violation of the sanctity, dignity, and fundamental rights of the human person. The Department of Homeland Security describes Human Trafficking as the "use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act." (DHS.gov/Blue-Campaign).

• Statistics from Polaris Project, the data agency that operates the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline:
  • In 2020, 16,658 confirmed cases of trafficking were reported
    • 10,836 were confirmed instances of sex trafficking
    • 3,583 were confirmed instances of labor trafficking
    • 631 were confirmed cases of sex and labor trafficking
    • 1,634 confirmed cases of trafficking that were type not specified
• Statistics for cases in Texas from the National Human Trafficking Hotline :
  • In 2020, 3,559 reports were made. Due to difficulties with the self-reporting of survivors not all of those reports were confirmed.
    • 739 were confirmed instances of sex trafficking
    • 116 were confirmed instances of labor trafficking
    • 56 were confirmed cases of sex and labor trafficking
    • 76 were confirmed cases of trafficking that were type not specified

Myth #1: Most victims of human trafficking are kidnapped and do not know their captors.

• Truth: In most cases, survivors of trafficking are exploited by a romantic partner or family member. Traffickers use grooming techniques and extreme manipulation tactics to create an illusion of safety and security and slowly transition to trafficking and exploiting the trafficking victim. After lengths of intentional grooming, victims often experience trauma bonding. In which a tumultuous relationship is broken and re-strengthened when traffickers enact a system of Power and Control (USCCB; Polaris).

• Truth: According to the Trafficking VIctims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), trafficking does not have to involve transportation in any form. Actually, in many circumstances survivors of trafficking were trafficked in their own community, sometimes in their own homes. (USCCB).

• Truth: This could be the case in some circumstances, however, it is typically more complicated. Traffickers often provide for basic needs like shelter, food, and child care while financially controlling trafficking victims so that victims feel trapped and left without any choices. Traffickers also use psychological abuse, blackmail, and manipulation to create a type of 'Stockholm syndrome' also known as, trauma bonding. Trauma bonding is like invisible, psychological chains making victims feel like they have no other choices. (Polaris Project).

For more misconceptions and resources on trafficking facts see the links below.