The Scope of Human Trafficking In California

There are an estimated 20.9 million human trafficking victims worldwide at any given time. Astoundingly, this organized criminal enterprise ranks second only to the drug trafficking industry, generating revenues of approximately $32 billion a year.

And while most people associate the term with the smuggling of humans across international borders, the faces of human trafficking are more familiar than you might think. This modern slavery is happening not only on foreign soil but often in our very own zip codes. Would you believe that a staggering 72% of human trafficking victims identified by California’s regional human trafficking task forces are U.S. citizens?

Within the United States, California has become one of the primary transit and destination states for human trafficking victims, with the populous metropolitan regions of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego nabbing three of the 13 spots on the FBI’s report of the highest child sex trafficking areas in the nation. Unfortunately, the same factors that make California an ideal place to live and work—our large economy, commercial influence, and prime geographic location—have also provided a fertile breeding ground for the exploitation of humans.

In commemoration of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, CalVCP has released a video PSA highlighting the broad scope of human trafficking. The good news is that combatting this crime can be as simple as being aware of its existence and knowing how to respond to it. Join us this month in helping to give silenced victims a voice and shed light on the prevalence of this dark crime.

If you or someone you know is being forced to engage in any activity and cannot leave—whether it is commercial sex, housework, farm work, construction, factory, retail, or restaurant work, or any other activity—call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or the California Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) at 1-888-KEY-2-FRE(EDOM) or 1-888-539-2373 to access help and services. Victims of slavery and human trafficking are protected under United States and California law.

The hotlines are:

• Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Toll-free.
• Operated by nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations.
• Anonymous and confidential.
• Accessible in more than 160 languages.
• Able to provide help, referral to services, training, and general information.

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The California Victim Compensation Program (CalVCP) provides compensation for victims of violent crime. CalVCP provides eligible victims with reimbursement for many crime-related expenses. CalVCP funding comes from restitution paid by criminal offenders through fines, orders, penalty assessments and federal matching funds.