Moving Forward: Next Steps in Preventing and Disrupting Human Trafficking

Abstract

The history of combating human trafficking and modern slavery in the United States is built on a long legislative foundation from the abolition of slavery in 1865 to more contemporary laws established since 2000. This policy foundation provides law enforcement tools to prosecute human traffickers and equips community organizations and service providers to protect survivors of trafficking. The matrix of federal and state laws on human trafficking established the effective implementation of the criminal justice framework in the US anti-trafficking field. As the country and international community looks ahead for ways to better prevent and disrupt human trafficking, a public health framework can build on the importance of rule of law to support the health and well-being of families, communities, and populations disproportionately impacted by human trafficking. Integrating a robust public health framework into anti-trafficking strategies will expand the group of stakeholders responsible for creating change, add perspectives on how we create change, and examine the types of changes we need to make. A public health approach also addresses three primary risk factors: (1) the existence of other forms of violence that contribute to normalizing the commercialized violence of trafficking; (2) the experience of disconnection, social isolation, shame, and stigma; and (3) the economic dynamics and demand that fuel the profit incentives of trafficking.