Human Trafficking Definition

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Introduction
When the term “human trafficking” is used, many thoughts come to mind. Most people do not realize that there are different types of human trafficking nor is the definition of human trafficking fully understood. Human trafficking, as defined by the U.S. Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA), is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion (Richards, 2014). The labor and services can include but are not limited to farm work, construction, restaurant services, domestic servitude, prostitution, and pornography (Richards, 2014). There are two types of human trafficking, forced labor and sexual exploitation (Richards,
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Human trafficking is not and should not be put in the same category as smuggling and immigration because it is not the same, even though people in both of those situations can be at risk for human …show more content…
The research on the prevalence and risk factors, both nationally and internationally are largely incomplete (Macy and Johns, 2011). The victims are hard to identify because they may not identify themselves as trafficked or for fear of deportation, violence, redistribution or abuse (Schwarz & Britton, 2015). This makes research about human trafficking and the victims extremely difficult (Macy & Graham, 2012). The victims of human trafficking are both wealthy and impoverished. The wealthy are targeted because they have the money and the means to pay the trafficker. The impoverished are targeted because they typically do not have a voice to defend themselves. In the eyes of the trafficker, the impoverished will not be missed so they are an easy target for forced labor and sexual