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About Human Trafficking

What is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking is the exploitation of human beings through force, fraud or coercion for the purposes of commercial sex or forced labor.

  • Anyone under 18 who performs a commercial sex act is considered a victim of human trafficking.
  • Human trafficking does not have to be physically restrictive. Many victims are exploited by coercion, fear or intimidation, which you cannot see.
  • Human trafficking is not the same thing as people smuggling. Human trafficking victims may be highly skilled and may come to the US on legitimate visas with the promise of lawful work.
  • Human trafficking can happen to anyone, but it affects marginalized groups more than others. At Cast, at least 88% of the survivors we have ever served are Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

FAQS

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Human trafficking is the exploitation of human beings through force, fraud or coercion for the purposes of commercial sex or forced labor. Anyone under 18 who performs a commercial sex act is considered a victim of human trafficking. 

Human trafficking does not have to be physically restrictive. Many victims are exploited by coercion, fear or intimidation, which you cannot see. 

Human trafficking is not the same thing as people smuggling,

Human trafficking victims may be highly skilled and may come to the US on legitimate visas with the promise of lawful work.

Human trafficking can happen to anyone, but it affects marginalized groups more than others. At Cast, at least 88% of the survivors we have ever served are Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

Currently, we don’t know the overall prevalence of human trafficking. People can experience force, fraud, or coercion in any sector. The best methods for determining rates of trafficking in agriculture may not work well for determining rates of trafficking in the sex trades, the garment industry, or other sectors. Rates of trafficking, and best practices for measurement, also vary among different regions and populations. Fortunately, there have been some promising prevalence studies in recent years. Researchers at RTI International recently explored rates of human trafficking in the construction industry in Houston, Texas. They found that 22% (1 in 5) construction workers had experienced labor trafficking in their lifetime. Another 42% had experienced other forms of labor exploitation, such as working without a contract or being deceived about working and living conditions.

Human trafficking is caused by a number of factors. On a societal level, issues like income inequality and poverty, mass incarceration, systemic racism, and barriers to immigration make some communities vulnerable. On an individual level, issues like housing insecurity, food insecurity, experiences of discrimination, and exposure to violence can make people vulnerable. Traffickers can exploit these factors by promising to meet survivors’ needs – for example, promising to provide housing and employment.

Visit the National Survivor Network.

See our Reports 

Other sources include: 

Many on-screen depictions of human trafficking are wrong and harmful.  This list of films about human trafficking, created and curated by the trafficking survivor community around the world, is a good place to take recommendations from.

Resources to learn more

Policy Advocacy

Cast produces policy briefings, agendas and reports for elected officials, their teams and those working in the policy advocacy realm on human trafficking at local, state and national levels.

Policy Reports

Research & Evaluation

Cast publishes survivor-informed, original research on human trafficking and evaluates our programs using uniquely comprehensive client data. We use dashboards to make our findings accessible.

Research Reports

Training & Technical Assistance

Cast publishes briefings and toolkits for attorneys and social service providers assisting trafficking survivors with legal needs, as part of our wider Training & Technical Assistance program. We also provide webinars on addressing human trafficking of youth.

Learn More

CAST Annual Impact Report

Latest Impact Report