Human Trafficking Victims In The United States

When someone says the words “human trafficking,” images of emaciated children, forced to work long hours for a pittance in third world countries most likely comes to mind. However, in recent years, the face of a trafficking victim in the United States has changed. In the state of California, 79% of reported trafficking crimes are related to the commercial sex industry, and in 2011, 80% of sex trafficking victims in the U.S. were American citizens. While many immigrants and nationals of other countries are still targeted, impoverished American women are being lured into captivity by promise of a better life by traffickers. Immigrants and US citizens alike are being trafficked at an increasingly higher rate; this is in part due to the fact that vulnerable, poor children are most preyed upon and the rate of poverty in the US is increasing. All humans deserve to have control over their bodies. In most films, the trafficking victim is drugged, forced into a van and sold into a life of slavery. In reality, most victims know their captors, and go to work for them under the false …show more content…
Over recent years, there has been an increase in state legislation to protect trafficking victims and punish traffickers. As of 2014, 39 states have passed forceful laws combating human trafficking, and many had passed legislation related to victim assistance, including laws about trafficking hotlines and safe harbors for minors. One federal act, the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 added the possibility of longer sentences for traffickers and made getting a T visa for a trafficked foreign national much easier. The T visa allows victims of human trafficking to stay in the U.S. for up to 4 years and eventually apply for permanent residence, as well as allows victims to work legally, helping to eliminate their