Human trafficking is a crime against a person, and smuggling is a crime against a border. For human trafficking, a victim does not ever have to be moved.

Human trafficking is the umbrella term for sex trafficking, labor trafficking, and debt bondage.

Human sex trafficking is the commercial exchange for a sexual act/depiction for another person’s benefit. That means an exchange of anything of value (money, food, shelter, safety, etc) for a sex act (sex, pictures, videos, etc). If the victim is under the age of 18, that is all that is needed to prove human trafficking. If the victim is over 18, the definition is expanded to include the use of force, fraud, or coercion in that exchange.

In the US, 97% of human sex trafficking is reported to be perpetrated by people a victim knows on some level. There are instances of kidnapping, abduction, and physical confinement in the US, but those are more common in victims who live outside the US. This is mainly because it is harder to get away with kidnapping a person in the US. Our law enforcement gets involved; other countries do not have that luxury. In other countries, typical entries into trafficking look like promises of a job/modeling/nannying, kidnapping, extortion, and families selling their children because they are out of hope.

Data has shown that the target age is getting younger and younger. The grooming of a potential victim can begin in elementary school. The average age a person is first trafficked is 12 years old. 

Grooming is the gradual process of getting to know a potential victim by using kindness and gifts while slowly pushing their personal boundaries and simultaneously luring them away from safe people. Typical grooming starts with a conversation by someone who wants to be or is a friend, partner, or family member. The abuser lures the potential victim by fulfilling needs while manipulating the victim to rethink safe people in their life. The abuser may provide basic needs for the victim or give gifts to the victim. As the victim comes to believe he/she can trust the abuser, the abusive behaviors will escalate, and the victim will be pulled further from any safe people. Once the victim trusts the abuser, the trafficking can begin because the victim will believe they are a “willing participant” in the acts.

97% of domestic sex trafficking in the US is perpetrated by someone who the victim knows. According to Polaris.org, 29% of sex trafficking is perpetrated by a significant other or romantic partner, and 49% of sex trafficking is perpetrated by a family member.

Traffickers do not typically kidnap people because kidnapping draws in police. It is a better business model to groom and lure a person away from safe people so as to not draw attention from law enforcement agencies.

There has to be some sort of intersection between the person being trafficked and a safe person. Similar to domestic violence statistics, the trafficking victim usually attempts to leave several times. There are multiple reasons why a person goes back to a trafficker or why they struggle with leaving a trafficker. Often, they are threatened with physical abuse, they are manipulated by experts at mind control, and they have a fear of the unknown. Unless there is an intervention from outside forces, most people will stay in the life until they die.

The first immediate need a person has is usually safe housing. Often, people leaving the life also have problems that follow them. They may have an addiction to a substance. If so, detox may be a first step. If a person does not need detox (meaning they aren’t in a crisis with their drug), then the person may go to a drug rehabilitation facility to learn new skills to combat their addiction prior to working on the HT component.

The second need is for a way to pay for things- groceries, rent, bus fare, etc. This is where economic sustainability comes into play. They need a job that overlooks potential problems in a background screen and understands they may not have the same skill set in the workforce that others their same age may have.

It can be. Sex trafficking is when another person is profiting from the sex act through force, fraud, or coercion. That means prostitution for people over the age of 18 under pimp control is sex trafficking. And pimp is just a slang term for trafficker.

Children cannot be considered “prostitutes” under the law. All commercial sex (sex with an exchange) with a child is a crime.

Again, if anyone else is profiting from the site through force, fraud, or coercion, that is sex trafficking. Many of those women have someone else who creates their ads/profiles and also collects the money. 

Florida is number three in the nation for reports to the HT hotline. There is no way to accurately know the number of people being trafficked as they typically do not self identify until years after they have exited the life, if at all. 

Central FL is number three in the state for calls into the HT hotline. Central FL is a hotbed because people can disappear into the streets easily and there are always more people coming in.

There is usually a clear power differential between a victim and the trafficker. You are looking for someone who is vulnerable in their basic needs- food, shelter, protection. And then you are looking for the obvious. Does it look like prostitution? Does it look like something is being offered for sale? Does it look like the person is always on the move?
Do they carry things that would suggest they may be having a lot of sex?

• If a person is in immediate danger, call 911.
• If you see a minor in the state of FL, 1-800-96-ABUSE
• If you see an adult in the state of FL, 855-FLA-SAFE
• If you see anyone, anywhere in the US, 888-3737-888

The people who answer the hotlines are trained to ask the right questions. You need as many details about the victim and perpetrator that you can gather- who do you see, what do they look like, where are they, why are you suspicious, what are they wearing, carrying, driving, etc.

That is dependent on the county in which they are arrested. We are making strides in treating victims better, but it takes our laws time to catch up to the problem. In counties that do it well, victims are offered services and released as long as there are no other charges against them. Perpetrators/buyers often receive only a misdemeanor and are released with a small fine. Traffickers face time in prison.