Recognizing and Responding to Human Trafficking in Texas, 2nd Edition _____________________________
traffickers and impose federal penalties. The Texas legislature created the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force in 2009 (House Bill 4009) to respond to the growing human trafficking crisis; the Texas attorney general was designated as the presiding officer (Texas Attorney General, 2024). The Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force consists of more than fifty member organizations, including non-governmental organizations, state agencies, local law enforcement agencies, and district attorney’s offices (Texas Attorney General, 2024). The Task Force has expanded a network of local and regional educational efforts that strive to educate the public to recog- nize human trafficking, identify victims and directing them to services, and ensure traffickers are investigated and prosecuted effectively (Texas Attorney General, 2024). TYPES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING Human trafficking includes multiple forms of exploitation such as sex, labor, and organ trafficking (note that organ trafficking will not be specifically addressed in this course). Victims may be forced, coerced, or defrauded into prostitu- tion, domestic servitude, or other types of forced labor (e.g., agriculture, construction, fisheries, mining industries). Victims can be found in legitimate and illegitimate labor industries, including sweatshops, massage parlors, agriculture, restau- rants, hotels, street peddling, door to door sales, begging, and domestic service (DOJ, 2014). Inaccurate and misleading information propagated through social media and various Internet news sites has sensationalized the domestic minor sex trafficking domain of human trafficking while minimizing and simplifying other domains of human trafficking. This creates a dangerous situation that detracts vital energy and resources from efforts that seek to combat other forms of exploitation and may ultimately lead to a rise in different forms of human trafficking (Prakash et al., 2022). Often the difference between sex trafficking and consensual commercial sex (sex work) is misinterpreted or misrepresented. Sex trafficking occurs when an adult takes part in the sale of sex through threat, abduction, or other means of coercion, whereas sex work involves the willing and consensual exchange of money for sex and does not infringe on the participants’ human rights (Baldwin et al., 2011). Note that children cannot technically be sex workers because they cannot legally consent to commercial sex. In instances of sex trafficking, victims perform commercial sex through the use of coercion, force, or fraud. It more commonly affects women but frequently involves children of both sexes (Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons 2017). Victims of forced labor trafficking are often found in industries that require a large number of workers yet have little regulation or oversight, including agriculture, restaurants/food services, bars/clubs, domestic work, factories, and the hospitality indus- try (hotels/motels). Forced labor affects both adults and minors (under the age of 18), and migrant populations are considered to be the most vulnerable to this form of trafficking.
VULNERABILITY FACTORS Although individuals of any age and any gender may fall vic- tim to human trafficking, it is known that women and girls are the most vulnerable (Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons, 2017). Current data for the state of Texas indicates that in 2020 and 2021, 85% of victims in human trafficking–related cases were female compared to 8% males and 7% unknown (Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force, 2022). The same report indicates that African American was the most vulnerable race/ethnicity with 38.1% of victims, followed by Caucasian (32.3%), Hispanic (18.7%), and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%); in 8.4% of cases, the victim’s race/ethnicity was recorded as unknown (Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force, 2022). Vulnerability factors are often regarded as either “push” or “pull” factors (Stoklosa & Beals, 2022). Push factors are circum- stances that drive victims from their current living situation into trafficking, for example, abuse, poverty, or family conflict. Pull factors lure a victim into trafficking by providing access to a desired resource such as income, housing, or recreational substances (Stoklosa & Beals, 2022). Much of the current body of research and literature indicates that vulnerability factors for human trafficking include: • Children in the welfare/juvenile justice systems (especially children ages 12–14 years) • Unhoused youth • Migrant laborers/foreign national domestic workers • Patient with limited English abilities • Patients with disabilities • Patients with limited education • Patients using substances/suffering from substance use disorders • Individuals of color • Indigenous individuals • Individuals with a history of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual) • Individuals who have experienced the death of a parent, guardian, or caretaker that has triggered family instability VICTIM–TRAFFICKER DYNAMICS Research and firsthand accounts from victims of trafficking indicate that traffickers may use a number of tactics designed to isolate, control, and intimidate/threaten victims such as: • Physical/sexual/emotional violence • Threats or intimidation of victims and/or victims’ family members • Withholding basic necessities (food, water, clothing, shelter)
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