The following information is from the Office of Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center.

Human trafficking is a low risk, high profit industry for the trafficker. Human trafficking is believed to be one of the fastest growing illicit industries in the world. Fortunately, as practitioners are better trained and the general public becomes more aware of the problem, the equation of low risk is starting to shift. The riskier the crime becomes, the less incentive exists for perpetrators to commit the crime. A strong multidisciplinary task force that utilizes talents from all sectors can add to this momentum.

What is  human trafficking?

According to federal legislation (the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 [TVPA], and its subsequent reauthorizations), human trafficking is defined 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 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 defines different types of trafficking as:

Commercial Sex Act: Any sex act on account of which anything of value (money, drugs, shelter, food, clothes, etc.) is given to or received by any person. Slavery: A form of exploitation where people are legally considered personal property. Involuntary Servitude: A scheme, plan or pattern that causes a person to believe that if they do not enter into or continue a labor obligation or situation, they will suffer serious harm, abuse, or other negative consequences. Peonage: Peonage is involuntary servitude based upon a real or alleged indebtedness. Debt Bondage: Similar to peonage, debt bondage involves a debt that seemingly can never be paid off, forcing the victim into exploitative labor indefinitely.

Who is a Victim? Who is a Survivor?

There is no single profile of a trafficking victim. Victims of this crime may be men, women, transgender persons, adults, minors, U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, or foreign nationals. Any person under the age of 18 who engages in commercial sex acts, regardless of the use of force, fraud, or coercion, is a victim of human trafficking, even if they appear to consent to the commercial sex act.

Both terms are important and have different implications when used in the context of victim advocacy and service provision. For example, the term “victim” has legal implications within the criminal justice process and refers to an individual who suffered harm as a result of criminal conduct. The laws that give individuals particular rights and legal standing within the criminal justice system use the term “victim.” Federal law enforcement uses the term “victim” in its professional capacity. “Survivor” is a term used widely in service providing organizations to recognize the strength and courage it takes to overcome victimization. Just as there is no one type of victim, trafficking perpetrators can be foreign nationals or U.S. citizens, and they can be family members, partners, acquaintances, or strangers to their victims. People often incorrectly assume that all traffickers are males; however, several cases in the United States involve women as traffickers. There are cases where traffickers are pimps, family members, peers and intimate partners, gangs and criminal networks, diplomats, business owners (legitimate and those operating as a commercial front for the illicit activity), labor brokers, farm owners, factories, and companies large and small.

Many victims and traffickers share ethnic or cultural backgrounds. In these cases, traffickers are better able to understand, gain trust, and ultimately exploit victims. Traffickers choose targets based on vulnerability, and they use recruitment or enticement tactics, choosing methods of control that will work most effectively.

What is a Coalition? What is a Task Force?

A "task force" is defined as a temporary grouping under one leader for the purpose of accomplishing a definite objective. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has used this term to describe grant-funded multidisciplinary anti-trafficking teams since 2004 when BJA and OVC first funded local law enforcement agencies and local victim service providers (VSPs) to work collaboratively to combat human trafficking.

Human trafficking task forces focus on identifying human trafficking, serving victims, and investigating and building cases. Local law enforcement agencies and victim service providers partner with federal and state investigative, enforcement, and regulatory agencies in pursuit of the most comprehensive response to the crime of human trafficking. The multidisciplinary task force response model (i.e., of agencies from various disciplines working together) is encouraged by the U.S. Department of Justice and is considered worldwide as a “best practice” in the response to human trafficking.

In the Heart of Texas Human Trafficking Coalition, the Steering Committee is often referred to as the "task force" and the general assembly of community partners are referred to as the "coalition." At times, these terms can be interchanged, and each can be used to describe the collection of community members working to end human trafficking in the Heart of Texas region.