WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?
Though the work to end human trafficking has been taking place for over two decades, there are still many of us who have never heard of or understand the atrocity that is human trafficking. That is why this January 2023, CrossRoads is committing to bring more awareness and education to the communities we serve. Before we go further, we want to invite you, the reader, to bookmark this page for future reference and to share with family & friends. CrossRoads is starting the conversation; we need you to keep it going.
Now unto the deep: What is human trafficking?
The first thing you should be aware of is human trafficking encompasses to separate crimes (though there can be cases where there is overlap). Below we provide the formal definitions as written by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services department of Office on Trafficking in Persons (Office on Trafficking in Persons, n.d.)
Labor trafficking: 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.
Sex trafficking: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose 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 act has not attained 18 years of age.
The second thing you should be aware of is within the definition of sex trafficking. That is, a victim under the age of 18 years old who is engaged in commercial sex does not have to meet any other criteria – force, fraud, or coercion – to be determined a victim of sex trafficking.
The third, and final, thing you should be aware of is the use of labels when discussing this topic. There are some who refer to human trafficking as “modern day slavery”. The use of this label has existed for some time and the word “slavery” is even included in the definition of labor trafficking. There are others, though, including CrossRoads, who only use the label of “human trafficking.” This is because, as the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCCASA) puts it, “conflation of human trafficking with slavery may feel dismissive” (Rethinking “Modern Day Slavery” - Don’t Disregard the Role of Race & Racism in the Anti-Human Trafficking Movement, 2020).
This is to say that the term slavery carries with it a long, horrible history of its own, a history that still impacts the descendants of chattel slavery to this day. CrossRoads chooses not to use the term “modern day slavery” because we recognize the difference between, as well as the long-term effects of, chattel slavery versus that of human trafficking. To be clear, we do not begrudge, judge, or in any way negatively view those persons/organizations who choose to use the term “modern day slavery”. We value all our partnerships with those who genuinely seek to bring an end to human trafficking.
So, what is human trafficking? Simply put, it is the act of forcing someone through abhorrent methods to work for no pay. Forcing someone to engage in commercial sex against their will, sometimes at an age when the victim should be watching Paw Patrol or getting ready for high school. To put it even more simply, human trafficking is a crime quite literally against a person’s humanity carried out for financial gain.
And it is long past time to bring it to an end.
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If you would like to learn more about human trafficking or share the work of CrossRoads within your community, contact our Director of Data, Engagement, and Planning, Claudia Patterson (cpatterson@crossroadscares.org) to schedule a presentation.
References
Office on Trafficking in Persons. (n.d.). Retrieved from Administration for Children & Families: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/fact-sheet/resource/fshumantrafficking#:~:text=Definition%20of%20Trafficking%20in%20Persons&text=Labor%20trafficking%3A%20the%20recruitment%2C%20harboring,%2C%20debt%20bondage%2C%20or%20slavery.
Rethinking “Modern Day Slavery” - Don’t Disregard the Role of Race & Racism in the Anti-Human Trafficking Movement. (2020, December 5). Retrieved from NCCASA.ORG: https://nccasa.org/rethinking-modern-day-slavery/