Mission: To lead a community-wide response to eradicate human trafficking and its effects in our region through advocacy, training, direct services, and collaboration. ​

What is human trafficking? Human trafficking occurs when criminals control or exploit vulnerable people for profit. By definition, human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, threats, or coercion to obtain labor or commercial sex. Anyone under the age of 18 performing a

Who are the victims? ANYONE can be a victim of human trafficking. Traffickers target the most vulnerable people in our society, including homeless youth, immigrants looking for work, and adults or youth living in poverty. Traffickers often withhold victims’ identification or important papers, threaten victims and their families, or manipulate victims by making extravagant promises.

Where does trafficking occur? Trafficking can occur anywhere, and it’s happening in El Paso. Here are some of the common settings where trafficking may occur:

Labor trafficking: construction, restaurants, cleaning, elder care, domestic service, agricultural work, nail salons, marriage

Sex trafficking: strip clubs, bars, marriage, sex work, online sites, modeling agencies, massage parlors

Human Trafficking Statistics ​WORLDWIDE · $150 billion industry · 20.9 million victims of human trafficking · Of these victims: o 68% are trapped in forced labor​ o 26% are children o 55% are women and girls (Study by the International Labour Organization​)

UNITED STATES · 1 out of 6 runaway youth are victims of human trafficking (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2016)​ · Reports of human trafficking in the U.S. increase each year. From 2015 to 2016, there was a 35% increase in reporting. ​ (Polaris, 2017)​ ​

TEXAS · Estimated 300,000 victims of labor and sex trafficking in Texas (Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, 2016) · Interstate-10 is the most heavily traveled route for human trafficking in the United States (U.S. Department of Justice, 2015)​