The Issue

Human trafficking is the exploitation of a person for labor or commercial sex through force, fraud, or coercion.

Any minor exploited for commercial sex acts is, by statute, a victim of human trafficking.

Many survivors of human trafficking, and those particularly vulnerable to human trafficking, lack access to legal services and advocacy to overcome individual and systemic obstacles to flourishing. We respond by providing trauma-informed legal services and promoting just policies and practices throughout North Carolina.

22 U.S.C. §§ 7101–7113 (2014) • N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-43.10-20 (2013)

Accurate statistics and data are scarce at both the national and state level, as human trafficking is still largely a hidden crime.

Human trafficking is believed to be the fastest growing illicit industry in the world, second only to the drug trade.

North Carolina is believed to have one of the top ten highest rates of human trafficking in the United States based on tips/reports to the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH).

tips/reports to NHTH from NC in 2018

cases reported in NC reported to NHTH in 2018

Improving The Data

“There is an urgent need to improve the precision of estimates of the number of human trafficking victims in the United States or any one state, county, or city.”

“The methods used to calculate estimates of human trafficking in the US are rarely described in the scholarly articles and government reports in which they are presented. Criminal justice data yield underestimates because many traffickers elude detection. Similarly, estimates from human trafficking service provider agencies or hotlines may represent only a portion of cases or may overestimate cases. . . . Once credible estimates have been generated, ongoing monitoring of the number of new cases per year (i.e., incidence) and percentage of the population experiencing victimization (i.e., prevalence) will enable policymakers to evaluate the effectiveness of policies and interdiction efforts.” American Journal of Public Health, 6/7/2017, full article here.