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Human Trafficking Resources

Definition

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which people profit from the control and exploitation of others. As defined under U.S. federal law, victims of human trafficking include children involved in the sex trade, adults age 18 or over who are coerced or deceived into commercial sex acts, and anyone forced into different forms of “labor or services,” such as domestic workers held in a home, or farm-workers forced to labor against their will.

Common factors are elements of:

  • Force
  • Fraud
  • Coercion

Every year, human traffickers generate billions of dollars in profits by victimizing millions of people around the world, and here in the United States. Human trafficking is considered to be one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world.

Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purposes 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 an act has not attained 18 years of age (22 USC § 7102).

Labor trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery, (22 USC § 7102). ~ National Human Trafficking Hotline

Resources

NC Resources

Carolina Women’s Center

The Carolina Women’s Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill works toward eradicating sex trafficking in the state and worldwide through policy and advocacy efforts. The Center helps to generate research and knowledge about trafficking practices. We raise awareness, both on campus and in the community, about the human rights violations trafficking causes, including the mental and physical effects on its victims and the impact on communities.

North Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking

As a lead victim service provider for sexual assault and human trafficking survivors in North Carolina, and as a co-founder of the North Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking , (NCCAHT), NCCASA coordinates and monitors case management services, legal services, and collaborates with law enforcement and the US Attorneys to assist victims and pursue prosecution of traffickers.

NC Stop Human Trafficking

NC Stop Human Trafficking works to fight human trafficking on multiple levels following the P.A.V.E. model: Prevention, Advocacy, Victim Services and Education/awareness. NC Stop works through connecting and supporting individuals, community-based and faith-based organizations, non-governmental and governmental organizations.

Project FIGHT

Project FIGHT (Freeing Individuals Gripped by Human Trafficking) provides comprehensive case management for victims of human trafficking found in North Carolina, and works to generate education and awareness about human trafficking in the community. Project FIGHT is also the leader of the Rapid Response Team of the Triangle, where they collaborate efforts amongst service providers including law enforcement, legal aid, and medical/mental health providers.

National Resources

National Human Trafficking Hotline

The National Human Trafficking Hotline is a national anti-trafficking hotline serving victims and survivors of human trafficking and the anti-trafficking community in the United States. The toll-free hotline is available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year in more than 200 languages.

Polaris Project

Polaris provides human trafficking victims and survivors with critical support to get help and stay safe through the National Human Trafficking Hotline and our BeFree Textline. Individuals can also search for more local resources through our national and global directories. In addition, Polaris provides trainings and tailored solutions to public agencies and businesses that seek to increase their capacity to prevent and eradicate human trafficking.

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army was founded in London, England, in 1865 by the husband and wife team of Catherine and William Booth. Their efforts eventually evolved into a battle to protect women and children from the horrors of sex trafficking. Upon learning of the desperate needs of women and children at risk of or already caught up in organized commercial sexual exploitation, The Salvation Army responded by opening homes for women and girls and developing intensive “Rescue Work.” Within thirty years Salvation Army rescue homes grew from one to 117. Today the Salvation Army continues to be front and center and aiding survivors of human trafficking.