Adolescents and Labor Trafficking

While many people, including medical professionals, have become familiar with the reality of sex trafficking of minors in the United States, very few people recognize that children and youth – even those who are US citizens – can be trafficked for labor as well. Simply put, labor trafficking is the US legal term for inducing a person to work or provide services through force, fraud, or coercion. This chapter will begin by defining and describing the problem, common forms of labor trafficking among children and youth, and vulnerabilities and risk factors in the population. Case studies will present the reader with opportunities to improve understanding of definitions and epidemiology and hone skills in the identification of risk factors and red flags, medical evaluation and treatment, resource identification, and reporting. Labor trafficking by forced criminality – whereby the work performed is a forced illicit activity – is a common type of labor trafficking in the United States. Yet, it is a type often unknown to health professionals and is misidentified by health professionals and law enforcement as criminally liable activity. When these trafficked persons are not seen as victims, they are denied urgently needed services, including protection from prosecution and safety planning. The long-term effects are ongoing trauma, lack of treatment, and an unfettered growth of this form of human trafficking resulting in more victims. This chapter will define labor trafficking by forced criminality, provide examples of what this type of trafficking looks like, and show how it impacts victims. It will also give readers resources to learn how to better identify the victims of labor trafficking and connect the victims to the protections and services to which they are entitled. Every year, millions of people migrate to the United States. Seasonal workers, international students, economic migrants, asylum seekers, immigrants, and refugees come to the United States in search of opportunities for a better life. Among these migrants are children or young adults who can become foreign national victims of human trafficking in the United States. In this chapter, we will discuss the experiences of these migrants and specific vulnerabilities that put them at increased risk for exploitation. Through case studies, we will discuss challenges related to the identification and provision of social, legal, and medical services to foreign national adolescent victims of labor trafficking.