Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, is a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts. The coercion can be subtle or overt, physical or psychological. Exploitation of a minor for commercial sex is human trafficking, regardless of whether any form of force, fraud, or coercion was used. — U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2000)
Severe forms of Human Trafficking
“Severe forms of trafficking” is defined by the US TVPA 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 an 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. — U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2000)
These definitions of human trafficking are references in McCabe and Manian’s book Sex trafficking: A global perspective (2010); note that ritual abuse and mind control fit both those descriptions.
U.S. Department of Justice definition
Ritual Abuse/trauma-based Mind Control fits the DOJ’s definition of Human Trafficking on their website, which also contains key information on victims, perpetrators and laws, including the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000 (TVPA) which definition of severe forms of trafficking and later legislation.
Vulnerabilities that can make some people more at risk of human trafficking are described as well as that “victims are deceived by false promises of love, a good job, or a stable life and are lured or forced into situations where they are made to work under deplorable conditions with little or no pay”, it goes on to state that trafficking victims can be American or foreign citizens, and may include children, and perpetrators may include family members and may be male or female. https://www.justice.gov/humantrafficking/key-legislation
Websites
Child Prostitution and Sex Rings by Michael C. Irving, Ph.D.
https://web.archive.org/web/20090521095655/http://www.m-a-h.net/library/abuse/article-sexrings.htm
Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. Reports of human trafficking for forced labor, forced prostitution, debt bondage, slavery and forced marriage for every country in the world. Includes reports on street children.
https://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/
International Rescue Committee works in forty countries and in dozens of U.S. cities with refugees forced to flee from war or disaster.
https://www.rescue.org
>National Human Trafficking Resource Center provides asylum to victims of trafficking in the United States. It runs a 24/7, confidential, multilingual Human-Trafficking hotline for victims, survivors, and witnesses of human trafficking.
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/victim-assistance/national-human-trafficking-hotline
Polaris Project A non-profit organization which advocates for stronger anti-trafficking laws, operates the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (hotline 1-888-3737-888) and provides referrals, training and a place to report violations.
https://www.polarisproject.org
Safehorizon provides social and legal services,
referrals for other support, educational and technical assistance,
training, and advocacy.
https://www.safehorizon.org/
Books and Committee Reports
Brysk, Alison and Choi-Fitzpatrick, Austin (Eds). (2012) From human trafficking to human rights: Reframing contemporary slavery. Univ. of PA Press, Philadelphia, PA.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Rethinking Trafficking – PART I From Sex to Slavery – PART II From Prostitution to Power – PART III From Rescue to Rights – Notes – Bibliography
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Cullen-DuPont, Kathryn. (2009) Human trafficking. Infobase Pub., NY, NY.
NOTE: From the publisher: “Despite the United Nations having officially abolished slavery and the slave trade more than 60 years ago, millions of human beings continue to be enslaved… The efforts of the United Nations, national governments, and nongovernmental organizations to combat human trafficking are thoroughly discussed, as are those to provide direct aid to the individual victims. Human trafficking … examines how the trade is conducted in the United States, the Netherlands, Nigeria, India, and Belize. Each case study analyzes the patterns of trade, the types of exploitation, why countries have failed to halt the practice, and the unrelenting efforts to eradicate human trafficking.”
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DeStefano, Anthony M. (2007) The war on human trafficking: U.S. policy assessed. Rutgers Press, New Brunswick, NJ.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: The Barrio Girls – The Emerging Issue – The Global Response – We Need This Bill – The Learning Curve – The Lady from Pitesti – Finding Leku – Sweat Toil and Tears – New Initiatives, More Controversy – The Bully Pulpit – Measuring Effectiveness – Final Thoughts
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Gozdiak, Elzbieta M. and Bump, Micah N. (2008) Data and research on human trafficking: Bibliography of research-based literature. Georgetown Univ., Washington DC. Diane Pub. (2011) Darby, PA.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – ABSTRACT – INTRODUCTION – COMPILING THE BIBLIOGRAPHY – Search Terms Used – Results of the Search Process – DEVELOPMENT OF THE TAXONOMY – Trafficked Populations – REPORTS – Empirical Nature – Methodology – Discipline and Sampling – Trafficking Type – Trafficked Populations – BOOKS – JOURNAL ARTICLES – Disciplinary Focus – Methodology – Sampling – Trafficking Type – RESEARCH GAPS – Methodology – Neglected Issues and Topics – REFERENCES – COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHY
NOTE: A print on demand edition of a hard to find publication.
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Hart, Joyce. (2009) Human Trafficking. The Rosen Publishing Group, NY, NY.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: What Is Human Trafficking? – The Causes of Human Trafficking – The Effects of Human Trafficking – Who Is Working to Stop Human Trafficking? – How You Can Help Stop Human Trafficking- Glossary- For More Information – For Further Reading
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Lee, Maggy. Human trafficking. Willan Pub., Devon. England.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Historical approaches to the trade in human beings – Issues and problems – Trafficking of persons in Central Asia – Trafficking into and from Eastern Europe – Human trafficking as a form of transnational crime – Discursive
NOTE: From the publisher: “Human Trafficking provides a critical engagement with the key debates on human trade. It addresses the subject within the broader context of global crime and the internationalisation of crime control. The book takes a broadly discursive approach and draws on historical, comparative as well as the latest empirical material to illustrate and inform the discussion of the major trends in human trafficking. The book helps to develop fresh theoretical insights into globalisation, exclusion and governance, and identifies a new research agenda that will ensure the book is of interest to advanced level students as well as academic scholars.”
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McCabe, Kimberly A. and Manian, Sabita. (2010) Sex trafficking: A global perspective. Lexington Books, Lanham, MD and Plymouth, England.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Defining Sex Trafficking – I Africa – II East Asia and Pacific – III Europe – IV Near East – V South Asia – VI Western Hemisphere – VII North America – AntiTrafficking Efforts
NOTE: From the publisher:”Global estimates of human trafficking range from 600,000 to four million victims each year with the majority being victims of sex trafficking. This strikingly large range belies the difficulty in gathering, defining, and accountability of sex-trafficking data. Victims of sex trafficking may be forced into pornography, prostitution for the military or militia, spousal prostitution, and prostitution for the sex-tourism industry. In response to the problem of sex trafficking, many nations have either misunderstood the definition or failed to comprehend the magnitude that have occurs within their borders. The United Nations has defined ‘human trafficking’ as ‘the recruitment, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by threat or use of force.’ Similarly, the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000 describes severe forms of trafficking 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 an 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. In Sex trafficking: A global perspective, sex trafficking is discussed in terms of its multiple purposes and its victims. The essays provide information to build upon the limited knowledge-base on the subject of sex trafficking and the legislative responses to human trafficking by the various highlighted countries.”
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The National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Children and Youth in the United States (2019). Sex Trafficking of Children and Youth Literature Review https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/report/report-sex-trafficking-children-and-youth-literature-review
Shelley, Louise. (2010) Human trafficking: A global perspective. Cambridge Univ. Press, NY, NY.
NOTE: From the publisher: “This book examines all forms of human trafficking globally, revealing the operations of the trafficking business and the nature of the traffickers themselves. Using a historical and comparative perspective, it demonstrates that there is more than one business model of human trafficking and that there are enormous variations in human trafficking in different regions of the world. Drawing on a wide body of academic research – actual prosecuted cases, diverse reports, and field work and interviews conducted by the author over the last sixteen years in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe, and the former socialist countries – Louise Shelley concludes that human trafficking will grow in the twenty-first century as a result of economic and demographic inequalities in the world, the rise of conflicts, and possibly global climate change. Coordinated efforts of government, civil society, the business community, multilateral organizations, and the media are needed to stem its growth.”
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Sutherland, Donald and Duguay, Christian. (2007) Human trafficking. Diane Pub., Darby, PA.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Letter – Results in Brief – Background – Organizations Have Taken Steps to Collaborate but Continue to Face Challenges – US Government Funded Antitrafficking Projects Lack Some Key Monitoring Elements Little Is Known about Project Impact Due to Difficulties in C… – Expert Panel Identified Ways to Address the Difficulties of Monitoring and Evaluating Antitrafficking Projects – Conclusions – Agency Comments and Our Evaluation – Selected International Organizations Involved in Combating Human Trafficking – Methods Suggested by Expert Panel to Estimate the Number of Human Trafficking Victims – Comments from the Department of State- GAO Comments – Comments from the Department of Labor – GAO Comments – Comments from the United States Agency for International Development – Comments from the Department of Health and Human – Services – Objectives Scope and Methodology – GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
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Thomas, Gordon. (2003) Enslaved: The inhuman traffic in men, women and children. Dandelion Books, online pubisihing. https://www.dandelionbooks.net/books.html
Womens’ Justice Center. A Guide for mothers, grandmothers, and others for helping a girl caught in prostitution or sex trafficking. Complete text in English and Spanish.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Introduction – Warning Signs a Girl May Be Being Prostituted – Starting Tips – Making the Police Report – If Your Daughter Gets Arrested – Coming Back to a Future – Six True Stories – If Your Daughter is Found Deceased
https://www.justicewomen.com/guide/index.html
Journal articles
Chisholm, A., Mark, I., Unigwe, S., & Katona, C. (2024). Rituals as a control mechanism in human trafficking: Systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative literature. Journal of Human Trafficking, 10(4), 582-605
Sprang, Ginny, and Cole, Jennifer (2018). “Familial sex trafficking of minors: Trafficking conditions, clinical presentation, and system involvement.” Journal of family violence 33: 185-195.
Oram S, Stöckl H, Busza J, Howard LM, Zimmerman C (2012) Prevalence and Risk of Violence and the Physical, Mental, and Sexual Health Problems Associated with Human Trafficking: Systematic Review. PLOS Medicine 9(5): e1001224.
Tsutsumi, A, Izutsu, T, Poudyal, AK, Kato, S & Marui, E (2008). Mental health of female survivors of human trafficking in Nepal. Soc Sci Med 66: 1841–1847.