NCJ Number
215404
Date Published
2005
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This handbook describes the crime of human trafficking and offers tips for avoiding victimization.
Abstract
Human trafficking is described as a form of modern-day slavery in which one person recruits another person to travel from one country to another by using coercion or fraud, usually with the promise of employment. Once in the foreign country, trafficking victims are held against their will and generally forced into prostitution, sweatshop labor, or other illegal activities. Traffickers keep their victims in servitude by taking away personal documents, physical abuse, and debt bondage. Safety tips are offered for avoiding human trafficking victimization, including advice on how to examine employment contracts and verify employment and living conditions before leaving the country of origin. Travelers arriving in foreign countries are advised to keep passports and personal information safe and to learn basic survival phrases in the local language. It is also advised that travelers know the address and phone number of their country’s embassy or consulate. Victims of human trafficking in the United States can seek help from the police, hospitals, fire departments, shelters for women and children, as well as other safe locations. Victims in the United States are protected by and subject to U.S. laws; laws pertaining to human trafficking, illegal entry, illegal work, and prostitution are briefly explained.