Involuntary Servitude and Human Trafficking Initiatives

Trafficking in persons, also known as "human trafficking", is a form of modern-day slavery. According to recent U.S. government estimates, 18,000-20,000 persons are trafficked into the United States each year for purposes of sexual exploitation or forced labor. Victims have been trafficked in both rural and urban areas of the United States.

Women, men and children are trafficking worldwide. Viewed as valuable commodities in the sex trade or labor industry, vulnerable individuals are targeted by traffickers poised to exploit their desperation, misfortune, or ignorance. They may fall victim to false promises of employment opportunities and a better live, or they may be abducted and sold outright by families who themselves are in need of money or hope to provide a better life for their children.

The passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in October 2000 marks the most comprehensive U.S. law to address the various aspects of human trafficking both internationally and domestically. The TVPA aims to combat human trafficking by establishing measures to prevent trafficking, to protect and assist its victims, and to prosecute traffickers.

The TVPA defines "severe form of trafficking in persons" as

a) Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; OR

b) The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery.

The TVPA only recognizes sex trafficking and labor trafficking, which include force, fraud, or coercion (exception for minors). Trafficked persons can be found in a wide range of industries including but not limited to brothels, domestic service, agricultural fields, construction sites, hotels, factories, sweatshops, and restaurants.

The FBI's jurisdiction pertaining to involuntary servitude and human trafficking crimes is predicated on the following federal statutes :

1) Title 18, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 894 (Collection of Extensions of Credit by Extortionate Means);

2) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1201 (Kidnapping);

3) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1203 (Hostage Taking);

4) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1324 (Smuggling Illegal Immigrants);

5) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1328 (Smuggling Aliens for Prostitution);

6) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1546 (Fraud and Misuse of Visas, Permits, and Other Documents);

7) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1581 (Peonage; Obstructing Enforcement);

8) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1584 (Sale into Involuntary Servitude);

9) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1589 (Forced Labor);

10) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1590 (Trafficking with Respect to Peonage, Slavery, Involuntary Servitude, or Forced Labor);

11) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1591 (Sex Trafficking of Children by Force, Fraud, or Coercion);

12) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1592 (Unlawful Conduct with Respect to Documents in Furtherance of Trafficking);

13) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2421 (Transportation for Illegal Sexual Activity);

14) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2422 (Coercion and Enticement);

15) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2423(a) (Transportation with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity);

16) Title 18, U.S.C., Section 2424 (Filing Factual Statement about Alien Individual)

 Page Updated:  February 22, 2005