Human Trafficking Among Utah Girls and Women

Human trafficking is a global problem that involves the exploitation of people for profit through the means of force, fraud, or coercion. It takes a variety of forms, including forced labor, debt bondage, domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation. While the scale of trafficking in persons is difficult to determine, estimates suggest that there were over 40 million victims worldwide in 2016. In fact, during the COVID-19 pandemic, various regions and countries reported increased domestic human trafficking as a result of loss in financial livelihoods and restrictions placed on movement. While human trafficking occurs across sexes and gender identities, approximately 20% of victims detected globally are girls and 50% are adult women. 

Despite public perceptions that human trafficking is only an international problem, it occurs in the United States and even within urban and rural areas of Utah. The Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) seeks to better understand the status, experiences, and challenges of all Utah girls and women in order to empower them. This includes girls and women in our state who are victims and survivors of human trafficking. This research snapshot focuses on three main areas:  

1. Overview of human trafficking definitions, contributing factors, and significance; 
2. Direct and indirect costs and consequences of human trafficking; and
3. Recommendations to eliminate human trafficking in the state of Utah.

Overview of Human Trafficking 

In the United States, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 defined “severe forms of trafficking in persons” as:  

• “(A) 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  
• (B) 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.” 

Research demonstrates that both the cases and the victims of human trafficking are varied and complex; there is no prototypical victim or case. Trafficked persons may be girls, boys, women, men, and non-binary people who are diverse with respect to race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status, among other factors. However, those individuals who are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking include immigrants, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), LGBTQ+, and those who live with disabilities.  Those with socioeconomic vulnerabilities, including those who lack employment and educational opportunities, are also at an increased risk of being trafficked. Some research suggests that victims of sex trafficking are more commonly female, while males are more often victims of forced labor. 

Costs and Consequences 

Human trafficking is a moneymaking industry that results in many negative consequences for those directly and indirectly involved. Economies and security, both global and domestic, are consistently threatened as the human trafficking industry continues to grow. Forced labor is thought to generate over $150 billion in annual profits globally, of which two-thirds is estimated to be made from forced sexual exploitation, making it one of the world’s most profitable crimes after drug trafficking. The industry is extremely profitable, and there will always be an incentive to keep the business of human trafficking lucrative and functioning, and, consequently, trafficking remains a constant threat. 

The lure of a better life has been attractive to many trafficked persons, whether it be through false promises of jobs or other financial incentives in exchange for labor. In search of better economic opportunities, many victims enter the US with a lawful visa and are trafficked for labor exploitation after their arrival. 

Even when human trafficking victims/survivors are able to cope with the immediate mental and emotional effects of their trauma, there remain obstacles that can impede long-term recovery, including roadblocks to stable employment, delayed progress at school (more specifically for victims/survivors under 18 years of age), and issues with training to secure good employment after escaping abuse. Other long-term needs include life skills training, permanent housing, and resolution of immigration status. Not only do victims/survivors need help obtaining the necessary skills for job placement, but their employers need to be equipped to handle any triggers or flashbacks that may occur in the workplace. 

What Utahns Can Do 

First, prevention measures, including community- and school-based education, are needed to curtail human trafficking before it happens. Core curriculum designed to teach concepts of healthy relationships, consent, and violence prevention should also include human trafficking education. Students should be able to recognize the signs of human trafficking, including grooming for the purpose of exploitation, and they should know how and where to get help. 

Second, identification is required to recognize the signs of trafficking and provide support to trafficked persons. Namely, screening tools may be used in social service, educational, medical, immigration, and criminal legal settings to identify and assist victims/survivors. 

Finally, intervention is crucial in eliminating the threats of human trafficking so survivors can receive the immediate and long-term help and assistance they need to rebuild their lives and avoid revictimization. Depending on individual needs, services such as immediate and long-term shelter, medical and dental services, legal and immigration assistance (e.g., T visas), mental health treatment, job and life skills training, and help reconnecting with family can make the difference in a survivor’s recovery and rehabilitation. 

Conclusion  

It is important that key stakeholders do more to end human trafficking in Utah, including addressing the micro and macro-level issues that contribute to the problem. While anyone can be trafficked, certain populations are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and should be centered in anti-trafficking efforts. A multi-pronged approach that targets prevention, identification, and intervention in a variety of settings and utilizes a coordinated community response is necessary to eliminate human trafficking in Utah. With coordinated community responses and partnerships between government and organizations, Utahns can help save lives and change victims’ futures. As Utah works to decrease human trafficking through and within the state, our communities will become safer, and we can strengthen the impact of more Utah girls and women. 

To learn more about human trafficking among Utah girls and women, read the full snapshot.