CAST was one of the first organizations set up in the United States to address human trafficking at both the grassroots and policy levels. It was founded in response to the discovery of 72 Thai workers who had been kept for seven years in slavery and debt bondage in East Los Angeles in 1998. CAST’s model is a ‘continuum of care’ designed to empower survivors to rebuild their lives – from providing social and legal services to facilitating survivor leadership in the anti-trafficking movement. Cast’s direct work with survivors informs our policy priorities and recommendations at local, state and national levels. Based in Los Angeles, we serve victims of all forms of human trafficking (labor and sex trafficking) – no matter their age, ethnicity, nationality or gender.
Reports
October 31, 2019
CAST Recommendations on an All of Government Approach to Combat Sex and Labor Trafficking in California for the Little Hoover Commission November 2019
Related Posts
May 22, 2026
What The New York Times Magazine Got Wrong About Human Trafficking — and Why Law Enforcement Are Not Survivors’ Saviors
Last fall, The New York Times Magazine published a story about the “Blade,” a stretch of Figueroa Street in Los Angeles where sex work and trafficking, including the exploitation of...
May 20, 2026
Figueroa Street and the Ethical Duty of Care
Looking back at a New York Times magazine story to examine what responsible coverage of sex trafficking looks like—and what it doesn’t.
May 4, 2026
Cast Receives Nearly $1 Million from The Douglas Foundation to Strengthen 24/7 Emergency Hotline and Response Services for Survivors of Human Trafficking
LOS ANGELES (May 4, 2026) —The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Cast), the largest direct service provider supporting survivors of human trafficking in the U.S., today announced it has...
