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Human Trafficking Resources in the United States

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August 15, 2022 by babinlaw Posted in

Here, we have shared some human trafficking resources for victims of this heinous crime. Speak with an Ohio human trafficking lawyer for more information.

Human trafficking is the intentional abuse of another human being for someone else’s benefit, forcing or coercing them to engage in activities like sexual conduct or forced labor. Unfortunately, it takes place every day in the United States. Human trafficking is considered a form of modern slavery in which people profit from the control and manipulation of others, i.e., the exploitation of children. As described under U.S. federal law, victims of human trafficking consist of children participating in the sex trade, adults who are forced or deceived into commercial sex acts, and anyone compelled into various forms of “labor or services,” such as domestic workers detained in a home, or farm-workers coerced to work against their will.

Common factors involved in human trafficking are elements of force, fraud, and coercion. Every year, human traffickers create billions of dollars in revenue by persecuting millions of people around the globe, including in the United States. Human trafficking is deliberated as one of the fastest-rising criminal industries in the world. At Babin Law, you can team up with an Ohio human trafficking lawyer who will work diligently with law enforcement agencies and nongovernmental organizations to bring such criminal elements (involved in all forms of trafficking) to justice in Columbus, Ohio.

Who are the Victims?

There are various misconceptions regarding victims of human trafficking. Victims may be locked in warehouses, but can also be in evident sight of the community. Victims can be both male and female. They may be those who have diverse education, economic, and cultural upbringings. Some individuals are excessively targeted by traffickers. Oftentimes it’s people in difficult situations such as those who are desperate for work, or runaway children.

According to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the U.S. Department of State, and the Department of Homeland Security, industries targeted by human traffickers include:

  • Agriculture
  • Childcare
  • Construction
  • Domestic work
  • Hospitality
  • Drug distribution
  • Traveling sales crews

People at risk of human trafficking include:

  • Children in the welfare, foster care, or juvenile justice system
  • Homeless youth
  • Children without substantial family ties
  • Undocumented and provisional workers pursuing visas
  • People with limited English proficiency
  • People with disabilities
  • Victims of prior abuse

Traffickers use premeditated strategies to engage more victims, but the anti-trafficking community has also stepped up as victim service providers for technical assistance and more (including legal action). For instance, many groups and legal teams work with the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to fight the human trafficking situation and help the victims. 

Who Are Human Traffickers?

Same as with victims of human trafficking, human traffickers can also come from a very wide array of social classes and demographics. According to the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force Strategy Guide, human trafficking is one of the largest illegal enterprises in the world. The assurance of high potential with an impartially low risk of being apprehended has led to many engaging in human trafficking.

The size and complexity of human trafficking procedures are correspondingly diverse. There are solo operators, small industries, loose trafficking rings, and high-level international criminal organizations involved in this illegal enterprise.

Human traffickers can be male, female, foreign, local, rich, poor, etc. Federal anti-trafficking efforts and anti-trafficking policies have made a solid dent in this dark business, but the work is far from done.

How Are People Trafficked?

Human trafficking is a progression that includes several steps a human trafficking victim will go through and that can be conducted by one or numerous different offenders:

Recruitment and Abduction

The foundation of human trafficking is where a target is recognized and employed in slavery through fraud (false promises), force, or coercion. Victims of human trafficking are usually tricked into slavery through the guarantee of economic opportunity by offering possibilities of employment, education, travel, etc.

Recruiters will have certain preying grounds they usually depend on to trap more victims. These may contain travel hubs like bus stops, train stations, hotels, or certain employment agencies. In some cases, traffickers opt for a more direct tactic and count on pressures against a victim or their family, and even abduction.

Transfer and Transport

A common delusion regarding this part of human trafficking is that it involves travel across a certain distance; typically, across borders. During transfer and transportation, victims can often end up being trafficked within their own homes.

Transfer and transport of trafficking targets can take place over land, sea, or air. Victims may unknowingly enter into a trafficking situation on their own, usually through false promises, uninformed of the manipulation that is prearranged for them. In other cases, these victims are moved like cargo in brutalizing ways like in crates, cargo holds, smuggling compartments, etc.

Exploitation

Another form of human trafficking includes the exploitation itself. This can take several forms and degrees of intensity. Normally, human trafficking includes industries like sex work, manual labor, and hospitality. The abuse of human trafficking victims can arise in a correspondingly varied list of positions, such as hotels, massage parlor setups, and warehouses.

Survivors can find campaign materials, educational opportunities, and training opportunities due to federal agency efforts and survivor-led organizations to start their fight against their former oppressors. You are not alone – get the help you need from survivor consultants offering person training and assistance to victims, and from an Ohio human trafficking lawyer.

What Industries are People Trafficked For?

Human trafficking takes place in almost every industry but is much more common in certain areas. As per the Department of Education, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, Health & Human Services Rescue and Restore Campaign, Anti-Trafficking Movement, and other anti-trafficking Programs, the industries most normally known for human trafficking nationwide are:

  • Sexual Exploitation
  • Labor Exploitation
  • Agriculture
  • Domestic Work (Hospitality Industry)

Human Trafficking Resources

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) approves the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to verify foreign victims of trafficking, making these individuals qualified for federally funded profits and facilities to the same extent as refugees. Victims of human trafficking are exposed to force, fraud, or compulsion for commercial sex or labor; they can be young children, teenagers, men, and women.

There are many benefits and services accessible for foreign trafficking victims, like Refugee Cash and Medical Assistance, the Matching Grant Program, the Public Housing Program, and Job Corps. There are several community resources present for them. Trafficking victims commonly cannot attain these resources by themselves; they require social services workers to support them in retrieving benefits and services so that they can accomplish self-sufficiency, become survivors of human trafficking, and restructure their lives in the United States or around the world.

Social services providers play an essential role in assisting victims of human trafficking to reinstate their lives. The requirements of trafficking victims can be complex, often including communications with multi-jurisdictional law enforcement personnel, lawyers, and an array of benefit providers. Also, service providers have to consider the differing levels of disturbance the victim has suffered and their cultural background while talking about their needs. Social service providers need to understand the many communities and State-funded resources available for victims in Ohio. Plus, they must be aware of various types of Federal benefits and services available to trafficking victims in other immigration classes.

An Ohio human trafficking lawyer will team up with NGOs, government agencies, law enforcement officers, health care providers, and victim specialists to get proper support for any survivors, such as those who have suffered from crimes against children (child abduction). They can also hook up with potential witnesses and international partners to help international victims and potential victims (especially child victims). If you or a loved one were in this awful situation, reach out to an Ohio human trafficking lawyer at Babin Law for more information.

Human Trafficking Resources for Pre-Certified Victims

Pre-certified trafficking targets are people who are neither U.S. citizens nor Lawful Permanent Inhabitants (“foreign victims”) or people who have not yet received a Certification Letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) permitting them to acquire federally funded benefits and services to the similar extent as refugees.

Here are some of the local human trafficking resources social service workers can help victims with:

  • Food
  • Shelter
  • Medical
  • Job training program
  • Education services
  • Transportation
  • Crime victim compensation
  • Clothing and goods

You can get help from an Ohio human trafficking lawyer, direct support services teams, direct service professionals, legal comprehensive services, and Law Enforcement Assessment of Sex Trafficking in Ohio.

Federal Assistance

Human trafficking victims can contact the following federal resources for information regarding legal services and anti-trafficking response available for pre-certified victims of human trafficking:

HHS Services Grants

HHS Services Grants offer inclusive case management services to foreign victims and possible victims of trafficking looking for HHS certification in any location around the United States. A victim of trafficking can become certified, and receive other essential services after certification, through a network of nongovernmental service organization sub-awardees in locations throughout the country.

National Human Trafficking Resource Center

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) is a local, toll-free hotline for the human trafficking field from anywhere in the United States

Office for Victims of Crime

The U.S. Department of Justice’s (USDOJ) Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) delivers facilities for pre-certified transferring victims. Services usually include housing or shelter, food, medical, mental health, dental services, interpreter/translator services, criminal impartiality victim advocacy, legal services, social services advocacy, education, and/or employment service.

Polaris Project

Polaris offers human trafficking victims and survivors services to get help and stay safe through the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Individuals can also explore more local human trafficking resources through their national and global manuals.

Plus, it would also be a good idea to search for organizations like Truckers Against Trafficking, Center for Human Trafficking Awareness, Human Trafficking Networks, Human Trafficking Leadership Academy, NGOs dealing with training on labor trafficking and victims of labor trafficking, United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, and so on. You can also download National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline, a resource with a focus on labor trafficking and other human trafficking programs.

Reach Out to an Ohio Human Trafficking Lawyer

Labor trafficking victims can reach out to us for additional resources, online educational resources, information about federal government laws, labor trafficking expert insights, resources for labor trafficking investigations and labor trafficking prosecutions, and more. We work closely with independent consultants, health care practitioners, and anti-trafficking work organizations to bring justice to victims of trafficking.

A human trafficking suit necessitates enormously subtle and complex tactics. It starts by addressing the instant needs of the victim of such a heinous crime and often must tackle immigration problems as well. Human trafficking is considered both a federal and state crime. Consequences are severe in case the perpetrator is convicted in federal court. Civil suits can be carried alongside criminal ones.

Victims can also prosecute companies that permitted them to be trafficked on company property and sue entities that meaningfully profited off of human trafficking. If you or a loved one has endured hardships as a result of human trafficking, it’s essential to consult a determined and competent attorney as soon as possible for a case consultation. No amount of money can eliminate the suffering you have undergone, but an experienced Ohio human trafficking lawyer can help rebuild your life in Columbus, Ohio.