Legal definition of human trafficking

The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude (holding another in service through force or threats of force). Under federal law, the technical term for modern-day slavery or coerced labor is "severe forms of trafficking in persons." "Severe forms of trafficking in persons" is defined as 1) 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 is under 18; or 2) 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 subjecting that person to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

Many trafficking victims are forced to work in the sex trade or are exploited for labor purposes. Whether or not an activity falls under the definition of trafficking depends not only on the type of work victims are made to do, but also on the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain or maintain that work. However, exploiting minors for commercial sexual activity, even if there is no force, fraud, or coercion, is still considered trafficking.

Federal laws that prohibit human trafficking

The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (VTVPA), Pub. L. No. 106-386, effective October 28, 2000, supplements existing laws that apply to human trafficking, such as those passed under the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Under the VTVPA, federal felony criminal offenses that may apply to trafficking in persons include slavery and peonage, sex trafficking in children and adults, and the unlawful confiscation of a victim's documents. The law applies to victims physically present in the 50 states of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

In addition to the severe forms of trafficking listed in the VTVPA, there are other existing statutes that may be applicable in particular cases. These include the crimes of 1) human smuggling, 2) kidnapping, 3) transportation for prostitution or any criminal sexual activity, and 4) importation of aliens for unlawful activities, including prostitution, organized crime and racketeering, fraud and false statements, money laundering, and visa fraud.

Traffickers convicted of certain federal offenses under the VTVPA and other statutes may receive prison sentences of up to twenty years for some offenses and up to life for others, may be required to pay substantial fines, and must provide full restitution to victims. They may also be subject to forfeiture of their property.