The most common myths about human trafficking and the reality behind them:
Myth 1: Human trafficking must involve some form of travel across state or national borders.
Reality: Trafficking does not require transportation.
Myth 2: Human trafficking is human smuggling.
Reality: “Smuggling is a crime against a country’s borders: human trafficking is a crime against a person.” Smuggling includes illegal border crossing. Human trafficking involves force, fraud, or coercion being used to make a person perform commercial sex acts or labor, whether or not transportation occurs.
Reality: Human trafficking can be labor trafficking or sex trafficking. While sex trafficking is more commonly reported and has wider awareness in the United States, it is believed that labor trafficking is more common worldwide.
Myth 4: Human trafficking only happens in illegal industries.
Reality: Human trafficking cases have been reported and prosecuted in legitimate businesses, including restaurants, hotels, and factories.
Myth 5: Human trafficking is a physically violent crime.
Reality: “Most human traffickers use psychological means such as tricking, defrauding, manipulation or threatening victims into providing commercial sex or exploitative labor.”
Myth 6: “If the trafficked person consented to be in their initial situation or was informed about what type of labor they would be doing or that commercial sex would be involved, then it cannot be human trafficking or against their will because they “knew better”.”
Reality: “Initial consent to commercial sex or a labor setting prior to acts of force, fraud, or coercion (or if the victim is a minor in a sex trafficking situation) is not relevant to the crime, nor is payment.”
Myth 7: “People being trafficked are physically unable to leave their situations/locked in/held against their will”
Reality: This is only sometimes true. “More often, however, people in trafficking situations stay for reasons that are more complicated. Some lack the basic necessities to physically get out - such as transportation or a safe place to live. Some are afraid for their safety. Some have been so effectively manipulated that they do not identify at that point as being under the control of another person.”
Myth 8: Traffickers target strangers.
Reality: Many survivors have been trafficked by romantic partners, including spouses, and by family members, including parents.
Myth 9: Victims will immediately seek help and self-identify as a victim of a crime.
Reality: Due to the various factors, including psychological manipulation by traffickers, many victims often do not immediately seek help or self-identify as victims.
Myth 10: All victims come from poverty.
Reality: Victims can come from any income level or socioeconomic status. Poverty is only one factor in a person’s vulnerability to human trafficking.
Myth 11: Only undocumented immigrants get trafficked in the U.S.
Reality: Trafficking victims in the U.S. include U.S. citizens, legal immigrants, and undocumented workers.
Myth 12: Only women and girls are trafficked for sex.
Reality: Men and boys are also trafficked for sex. LGBTQ boys and young men are particularly vulnerable to trafficking.
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