WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?
Human trafficking is the crime of using force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person into commercial sex acts or labor against his or her will.
Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked worldwide – including right here in Louisiana. It can happen in any community and victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN LOUISIANA
Each year in Louisiana, hundreds of victims have been identified and provided services. Louisiana began collecting annual data on human trafficking in 2014.
In 2024, 2,328 victims of human trafficking were reported as receiving services. 12,466 instances of services were provided to these individuals in 2024. 88% of victims reported were female. 85% of victims were under the age of 18 years old. For more information on human trafficking data in Louisiana, download our annual report from our Resource Library.
Sex Trafficking vs. Labor Trafficking
SEX TRAFFICKING
Sex Trafficking is the crime of using force, fraud, or coercion to induce another individual into commercial sex acts. In Louisiana, it is not required to demonstrate the use of force, fraud, or coercion when the victim is under the age of 21. This means that any person in Louisiana under the age of 21 who is engaging in commercial sex acts is a victim of a crime, not a criminal.
Sex trafficking in Louisiana takes many forms including familial trafficking, third-party controlled-trafficking, or even a child exchanging sex or a sex act for anything of value (survival trafficking).
LABOR TRAFFICKING
Labor Trafficking is the crime of using force, fraud, or coercion to induce another individual into labor or services. Common types of sites where labor trafficking occurs in Louisiana include the seafood industry, agriculture, aquaculture, restaurants, construction, and the drug trade. Labor trafficking can happen both in the regular economy or the so-called grey economy.
Labor trafficking victims may also experience sex trafficking or other forms of sexual abuse.
What are force, fraud and coercion?
Traffickers use the tactics of force, fraud, and coercion to recruit, exploit, and control victims.
- Force refers to the use of physical force or physical control to break down victims. This can include: physical harm, sexual violence, and confinement.
- Fraud refers to methods of deception or false promises of employment, wages, love, marriage, or a better life. This can include: withholding wages, falsifying documents, and contract fraud.
- Coercion refers to the mental or psychological control that traffickers exercise over their victims. This can include: threats of harm, threats of arrest or deportation, debt bondage, psychological manipulation, or document confiscation.
POWER AND CONTROL WHEEL
Force, fraud, and coercion can take many forms. Developed by The Polaris Project, the Power and Control Wheel outlines the different types of abuse that can occur in labor and sex trafficking situations.
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
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Reality: Human trafficking can happen in any community, including here in Louisiana. In 2024, 62 out of 64 parishes were reported as a location of trafficking. Human trafficking is occurring across urban and rural parishes in our state.
