Human trafficking in California

Human trafficking in California is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, and forced labor as it occurs in the state of California. Human trafficking, widely recognized as a modern-day form of slavery, includes

"the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power, or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."[1]

California is particularly vulnerable because of its "proximity to international borders, number of ports and airports, significant immigrant population, and large economy that includes industries that attract forced labor."[2] It serves both as an entry point for slaves imported from outside the US as well as a destination for slaves, with major hubs centered on Los Angeles, Sacramento,[3] San Diego, and San Francisco.[4] According to the 2011 Department of State report, California, together with New York, Texas, and Oklahoma, has the largest concentrations of survivors of human trafficking.[5]

  1. ^ United Nations (2000). "U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children" (PDF). Retrieved March 3, 2012. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ "A Serious Problem – Around the Globe and in the USA". CAST LA: Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Human Trafficking Services". WeaveInc.org. WEAVE Inc. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  4. ^ Human Rights Center. Freedom Denied: Forced Labor in California (PDF). Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  5. ^ HIDDEN SLAVES: Forced Labor in the United States (PDF), Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley, September 2004, ISBN 978-0-9760677-0-2, archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-30