Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, harboring, or receipt of people for the purposes of slavery, forced labor (including bonded labor or debt bondage) and servitude. The total annual revenue for trafficking in persons is estimated to be between $5 billion and $9 billion. The Council of Europe states that "people trafficking has reached epidemic proportions over the past decade, with a global annual market of about $42.5 billion."Trafficking victims typically are recruited using coercion, deception, fraud, the abuse of power, or outright abduction. Threats, violence, and economic leverage such as debt bondage can often make a victim consent to exploitation. Exploitation includes forcing people into prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. For children, exploitation may also include forced prostitution, illicit international adoption, trafficking for early marriage, or recruitment as child soldiers, beggars, for sports (such as child camel jockeys or football players), or for religious cults.

http://www.humantrafficking.org/

Here are 2 resources provided by the US Government to combat human trafficking.

This is the 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report. It is 240 pages and I haven't read the full text. Page 51 details the efforts of the United States goverment in combatting this issue.
http://www.humantrafficking.org/uploads/publications/2007_TIP_Report.pdf

This is the Department of Justice video also laying out US government efforts to fight human trafficking.  
http://www.usdoj.gov/whatwedo/whatwedo_ctip.html

A long while ago as one of my fellow RLSH was researching Human Trafficking, She came across a rather unpleasant website where "Johns" (men who use prostitutes, some of whom may be human trafficking victims) go to post about their sexual exploits, where to find the best rates on hookers, and every once in awhile, if you're paying attention and know what to look for they will report cases that sound like human trafficking victims may be being used.

Here it is - It's not for the faint of heart:
http://www.worldsexguide.com/guide/

Just click on your part of the world, and there they will be, telling their stories about women they've 'encountered'.

Now keep in mind, a lot - maybe even most - of the prostitutes they talk about are out there doing this of their own accord.
You just have to keep an eye out for instances where the Johns talk about:

• None of the women speaking a word of English (or whatever the native tongue of the country is).
• Women having strange bruises, scars, or are unusually timid.
• Catching anybody spying on them in the act.
• The women appear that they could be underage. Trafficking victims can be as young as 12, and there are even cases where kids as little as 6 or 7 have been stolen from home to be sexually exploited.

Here is a good page to study to help you learn more about identifying a human trafficking victim


Also keep in mind that only 1 or 2 out of 10 people actually know what human trafficking IS. Often people mistake it with simple illegal immigration. But it's important to know that human trafficking is when a man, woman, or child is abducted, deceived, or otherwise forced into leaving their homes/countries to work in an unfamiliar place with little or no pay. They are often physically and emotionally abused, raped, starved, or killed - these people are essentially slaves.

Here are some good sites to learn more about this horrible issue:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafficking_in_human_beings
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/rls/33109.htm
http://www.humantrafficking.com/
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/

Also, a series of sites I compiled for locating sexual offenders in your area:
http://www.registeredoffenderslist.org/
http://www.klaaskids.org/pg-legmeg2.htm

http://www.sexualoffenders.com/

http://www.offreg.com/links.html

http://www.sexcriminals.com/regs/1029.html

http://www.mugshots.com/

Lastly, a way to gather information regarding missing children.

http://amberalerts.globalincidentmap.com/home.php

And many don't know that it happens in America, too, in cities across the states. Especially in places like Durham NC, San Francisco or L.A. in CA, New York, New Jersey, Dallas TX, Seattle WA, Miami FL, and many more. If anybody wants any more information or has any more questions, let me know. My advice to start an investigation in these areas (or in any areas) is to first conduct a little research:

1. Where has human trafficking been reported in these places in the past few years? For New Jersey and NYC, here are a few cases I found from the past few years:

http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2005/Apr/06-922355.html
http://www.vera.org/project/project1_1.asp?section_id=7&project_id=85
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/16/nyregion/17ringcnd.html?&pagewanted=print
http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/attachments/74608.htm?CFID=1944767&CFTOKEN=53306200
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sold+in+the+U.S.A.:+more+human+trafficking+cases+are+originating...-a0148319652

2. Compile a list of the following in your area(s): Massage Parlors, Modeling Agencies, Strip Clubs, Mail-Order Bride Agencies. Even some restaurants function as fronts for human trafficking. These are most often the "fronts" for human trafficking operations.

3. Know that depending on how close you get, you would be dealing with (probably) a gang of well-armed thugs - I don't want anything I say to lead to somebody getting killed. It is best to report cases of human trafficking that you witness/suspect to this number:

Report trafficking crimes or get help by calling the toll-free hotline: 1-888-428-7581 (voice and TTY).

4. Know the human trafficking laws in your state/country. Not all states or countries have the same laws. What's more, cops are often NOT prepared to PROPERLY help human trafficking victims. Sadly, sometimes they mistake them for "common prostitutes" and put them in jail, ignore them, or deport them back to their home countries where they are at risk of being attacked, killed, or just re-abducted by criminal gangs there.

Here is info about the NY anti-trafficking law that got passed just last year:
http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/0606071.html

And for NJ

5. Know where human trafficking victims can go for refuge and help. This article mentions services for victims in New York half way down the page: http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/crime/20071001/4/2304

6. If you have time, consider learning a language or finding a translator: Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Korean are all important ones to be able to understand victims.

Article contributed by Star7, NC real life superheroine, originalily published on the Heroes Network. Many of the RLSH spread across the globe are taking the fight to the human traffickers, from San Fransico to Cambodia. If you would like to make contact with them and learn more, click here and I will do my best to forward your information to them.