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Human Trafficking

• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Campaign to Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking
• Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking
  
  
  
  What is Human Trafficking?
  
  Trafficking in persons is modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. Trafficking of humans is the second largest criminal industry in the world after drug dealing, and is the fastest growing. According to the Dept. of Health and Human Services about 800.000-900,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders annually.
  
  The U.S. Dept. of Justice estimates that 50,000 victims are trafficked into the United States annually. Examples of recent cases of human trafficking in the U.S. include adolescent Mexican girls trafficked to the U.S. for forced prostitution, Peruvian men trafficked for forced labor, and African women and children trafficked for domestic servitude. Trafficking victims have also been found in restaurant work, sweatshop factory work or migrant agricultural work.
  
  People are snared into trafficking by many means. In some cases, physical force is used against the victim or threats are made against other family members. In other cases, false promises are made regarding high pay, good job opportunities, marriages, or a better life. Political chaos or poverty in other countries is also a contributing factor. People are desperate to flee and thus become prey for profiteers. Patriarchy, which devalues women and thus keeps them uneducated, subservient and compliant, is yet another contributor to the situation.
  
  What is the United States doing to stop trafficking victims?
  
• Congress passed the Trafficking Victims protection Act (T.V.P.A.) in 2000. Anyone in the United States identified by law enforcement as a victim of a severe form of trafficking has certain rights and may be eligible for benefits, including immigration relief, social services, and access to refugee benefit programs.
  
• Congress passed legislation so Americans who sexually prey on children abroad can be prosecuted and sentenced to as many as 30 years in prison.
  
• The Department of Health and Human Services initiated the Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking campaign to help identify and assist victims of human trafficking in the United States.
  
• The Department of Justice has focused on increasing the number of trafficking victims rescued and the number of prosecutions and convictions of traffickers.
  
• The Department of Defense has implemented a zero-tolerance stand against any actions by Defense personnel that contribute to human trafficking and is instituting a service-wide mandatory training program.
  
• The Departments of Labor and Homeland Security, USAID, and other government agencies are executing action plans to combat human trafficking.
  
• The Departments of Labor, State, and the U.S. GENCY FOR International Development (USAID) awarded approximately 82 million to 251 international anti-trafficking programs in 86 countries; the Department of Health and Human Services distributed 5.1 million in grant money to domestic non-governmental organizations, and the Department of Justice granted 7.6 million to local communities for the creation of anti-trafficking task forces and 5.6 million to victim services agencies.
  
  If you suspect a situation involving human trafficking, phone: Trafficking Information and Referral Hotline: 1-888-3737-888 or call Catholic Charities of Idaho 1-800-796-4131

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