Across the world, up to 30 million people are currently being held captive, moved from location to location as victims in the global human trafficking trade. As many as 17,500 victims are moved into the US alone each year. California is home to three of the FBI’s most notorious trafficking areas - San Francisco, L.A., and San Diego - while the Dallas-Ft. Worth region in Texas is home to 15 percent of the total calls sent to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. The average age of those forced into this illegal trade is 12 to 14 years old. 

Global authorities have identified Russia, China, Iran, Belarus, and Venezuela as some of the top countries known for a high percentage of trafficking-related crimes. This underground black market destroys the lives of thousands of people, even as it pads the pockets of criminals with more than $32 billion each year.

An often-unknown fact centers around how people become forced into trafficking.  13 Heartbreaking Stories from Survivors of Human Trafficking: includes global stories that demonstrate how immediate family/friends can be the ones who force children into being trafficked.  Knowing how difficult it is for survivors to share their stories, it is very compelling that many survivors instinctively understand the need for vulnerability as an impactful process to help other victims.   Support from survivors is crucial to help others see the signs and reveal that many traffickers are family members who try to convince their victims that this criminal activity is normal.

These human trafficking survivor stories help paint a picture of the many forms and places human trafficking can take place here in the United States: 15 U.S. Human Trafficking Survivor Stories - The Exodus Road.

In the words of an experienced  Homeland Security Investigator (HSI) Human trafficking victim shares story | ICE

“As a special agent with HSI, I believe it is a duty and an honor for me to assist and protect survivors like Tonya against human traffickers who wish to exploit their innocence for greed, control and money,” Owens said. “Any individual or group who wishes to prey upon the vulnerabilities of any man, woman or child and force them into a life of sex or labor trafficking should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. HSI continues to lead this charge.”

The Polaris Project, a recognized leader in the fight against human trafficking, includes impactful survivor stories on their website:   Survivor Stories - Polaris

Survivors of sex and labor trafficking are resilient and are the true experts in the anti-human trafficking field. They are able to educate us about the risk factors that contributed to their being trafficked, enabling support services to increase prevention efforts. We are grateful to the brave survivors who have stepped forward, hoping that other potential victims can learn from their stories. There is support available if these stories make you concerned about yourself or others.  From Survivor to Advocate: Breaking the Chains of Coercion and Fighting Human Trafficking

“You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know.”
~ William Wilberforce, British Abolitionist, 1789

The MPI Anti-Human Trafficking Committee works to create awareness -- across all MPI channels, including chapters, social media, publishing, media and live events -- of the things we can all do to help prevent this terrible crime that is being committed anywhere, to anyone, and at any time.