TxDOT is committed to ending human trafficking by educating employees and the traveling public to recognize and report possible instances of human trafficking.
Human trafficking
According to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, human trafficking is defined as:
- Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or
- The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
There is no single profile for trafficking victims. They can be anyone regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, socioeconomic status, or education level. Human trafficking happens to adults and minors.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Texas ranks second in the United States for the number of human trafficking cases.
Types of human trafficking
In sex or labor trafficking instances, victims seemed to be controlled by others and are unable to communicate/speak freely. Below are some common red flags
Sex trafficking red flags
- It can look like forced prostitution, stripping or even pornography
- Victims can be young and old, male or female
- Their time, movements and even spending are being controlled by someone else
- Often times they have unexplained signs of physical abuse or injuries
Labor trafficking red flags
- The work is dangerous and/or lacks proper safety gear or training
- Legal documents or wages are withheld/less than promised
- Victims are forced to work excessively long hours and are threatened/physically abused if they refuse to work/try to leave
- They are forced to live in unsanitary, crowded or inhuman living conditions
Myths vs. facts
Fact: This is one of the most pervasive myths about human trafficking. Most traffickers use psychological means such as, tricking, defrauding, manipulating or threatening victims into providing commercial sex or exploitative labor.
Fact: There are two major type of human trafficking – sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Experts believe there are more situations of labor trafficking than of sex trafficking, but there is much wider awareness of sex trafficking than labor trafficking in the U.S.
Fact: Human trafficking is often confused with human smuggling, which involves illegal border crossings. Human trafficking can occur domestically within a country’s borders.
Fact: The crime of human trafficking does not require any movement whatsoever. While transportation may play a role in trafficking situations, individuals can be trafficked in their own hometowns, some even within their own homes.
Fact: This is not always the case. Individuals have been trafficked by spouses, partners, romantic parents, employers, friends, family members, and even parents.
Fact: Anyone can a be victim of human trafficking.
Fact: Whether someone initially agreed to be involved in commercial sex or a job, if force, fraud, or coercion (or if the victim is a minor in a sex trafficking situation) is later involved, their initial agreement and any payment don't change the nature of the crime.
Fact: While this can be true at times, in many instances, individuals in trafficking situations remain for reasons that are more complicated. Certain individuals lack fundamental resources to physically leave, like transportation or a secure living space. Others fear for their safety, while some have been manipulated to a point where they don't even recognize themselves as being under another person's control.
Understanding the difference between trafficking or smuggling
Human trafficking
- Crime against a person (violation of human rights)
- Force, fraud, or coercion used to recruit and manipulate victims (victim’s initial consent does not negate the crime”
- Person does not have to be moved or transported.
Human smuggling
- Crime against a country/state (violation of a border)
- Individuals agree to be smuggled, and ends with the person’s arrival at destination
- Requires being transported across an international border
Human trafficking is fundamentally about exploitation, often involving the use of force, fraud, or coercion to exploit people for forced labor or commercial sex. Victims can be trafficked domestically or across borders. Human smuggling is the illegal transportation of individuals across a border and is usually consensual. However, smuggling can evolve into trafficking if smugglers use force, fraud, or coercion, shifting it from transportation to exploitation.
Trafficking centers on exploitation, while smuggling is about transportation, but the distinction can become blurred when elements of force, fraud, or coercion come into play, turning smuggling into trafficking.
Awareness resources
Use these TxDOT resources to raise awareness of the issue in your community or to identify and report suspicious activity that can help stop human trafficking.