Labor Trafficking Victimization Experience

• In Event: The Organization, Operation and Victimization of Labor Trafficking in the United States

Abstract

The labor trafficking victimization experience begins with the recruitment of victims—typically in their home country—and is followed by their movement to and/or within the United States. The next phase of the continuum involves the victimization and exploitation of these individuals within their places of work. In this paper, we will discuss the experiences of labor trafficking victims, including the prevalence of labor exploitation and labor trafficking victimization and the distinction between the two; the forms of force, fraud and coercion employed by traffickers; the victims’ interactions with others not involved in their trafficking, such as bystanders and law enforcement officials; and the overlap of sex trafficking and victimization over the course of labor victimization process.

Authors

• Meredith Dank, Urban Institute

• Justin Breaux, Urban Institute