Human Trafficking Resource Library

Federal Resources

U.S. Department of Justice - Statistics

In October, 2023, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, within the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, released Human Trafficking Data Collection Activities, 2023. This report describes BJS’s activities during 2022 and 2023 to collect data and report on human trafficking as required by the Combat Human Trafficking Act of 2015 (34 U.S.C. § 20709(e)).

Futures Without Violence

This website has a vast array of resources available to help survivors as well as practitioners who want to learn more about human trafficking.

Blue Campaign - U.S. Department of Homeland Security

The Blue Campaign is a national public awareness campaign designed to educate the public, law enforcement, and other industry partners to recognize the indicators of human trafficking, and how to appropriately respond to possible cases. A Spanish version is also available.

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The FBI works human trafficking cases under its Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking program. They take a trauma informed, victim-centered approach in investigating these cases.

U.S. Department of State

The State Department issues a report on human trafficking each year. The 2021 gives a global overview of human trafficking, and describes efforts made to combat trafficking during the pandemic.Polaris Project

Polaris Project

This website includes a wealth of information about human trafficking, including statistics, resources, and other materials. They also serve victims through the National Human Trafficking Hotline and the National Human Trafficking Referral Directory which  consists of anti-trafficking organizations and programs that offer emergency, transitional, or long-term services to victims and survivors of human trafficking as well as those that provide resources and opportunities in the anti-trafficking field.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office on Trafficking in Persons

The mission of this office is to combat human trafficking by supporting and leading systems that prevent trafficking through public awareness and protect victims through identification and assistance, helping them re-build their lives and become self-sufficient. The website contains a variety of resources.

The Human Trafficking Outreach Toolkit - July 2020

This toolki t, created by Project TRUST (Trauma Response to Uplift Survivors of Trafficking), applies trauma-informed practices to human trafficking outreach programs. It offers background information on trauma-informed outreach and methods to increase outreach effectiveness and inclusivity. This survivor-informed toolkit offers a self-directed model to promote critical thinking when creating outreach campaigns across audiences for awareness building, fundraising, client connection, and partner collaboration purposes.

The Department of Justice - Office for Victims of Crime: Human Trafficking

This website is hosted by the Office for Victims of Crime, which is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice. It contains a variety of resources and training tools, including:

• A Resource and Research Library

• Faces of Human Trafficking Training Materials that include a discussion guide, videos, and fact sheets

• Information for Survivors including a map of service providers and task forces

The Typology of Modern Slavery: Defining Sex and Labor Trafficking in the United States - The Polaris Project

Polaris analyzed more than 32,000 cases of human trafficking documented between December 2007 and December 2016 through its operation of the National Human Trafficking Hotline — one of the largest data set on human trafficking in the United States ever compiled and publicly analyzed. Polaris’s research team analyzed the data and developed a classification system that identifies 25 types of human trafficking in the United States. Read the report.

What Should Judges Know About Federal, Tribal, and State Domestic Child Sex Trafficking Legislation?

This document also covers what judges need to know about recent legislation that effects victims of DCST.

Human Trafficking Task Force E-Guide

Developed in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, this guide was created to assist in the development and operation of anti-human trafficking task forces, and provides fundamental guidance for effective task force operations. It is an e-learning tool that contains:

• Guidance on how to form and develop vnew human trafficking task forces
• Ideas to strengthen existing human trafficking task forces
• Creative strategies, examples, and lessons learned from existing task forces
• Links to tools, trainings, and resources, including case studies

The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking

This nonprofit organization is working to put an end to modern slavery and human trafficking through comprehensive, lifesaving services to survivors and a platform to advocate for groundbreaking policies and legislation. They have a variety of resources and training materials available.

The National Human Trafficking Hotline

This website is a national anti-trafficking hotline serving victims and survivors of human trafficking and the anti-trafficking community in the United States. The toll-free hotline is available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year in more than 200 languages.The National Hotline can also be accessed by emailing help@humantraffickinghotline.org, submitting a tip through the online tip reporting form, and visiting the web portal at www.humantraffickinghotline.org.Their mission is to provide human trafficking victims and survivors with access to critical support and services to get help and stay safe, and to equip the anti-trafficking community with the tools to effectively combat all forms of human trafficking.

The National Institute of Justice

This organization is working to advance understanding of the nature and extent of human trafficking: how to improve the detection, investigation, and prosecution of traffickers, and how to address the needs of victims and provide needed services.

The American Bar Association

The ABA has created a resource page and webinar to assist attorneys interested in working with human trafficking cases.

State Resources

G.R.A.C.E. Court - Florida's Eleventh Circuit

The Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida is home to G.R.A.C.E. Court – Growth Renewed through Acceptance, Change and Empowerment. According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC), G.R.A.C.E. Court is the first specialized court in the nation devoted to the needs of children who have been identified as victims of commercial sexual exploitation and labor trafficking.

Florida's Human Trafficking Benchbook 2017

Created by a team in Florida’s 11th Circuit, this benchbook is designed to assist judges hearing human trafficking cases.

Florida Attorney General's Office

The Attorney General is committed to make Florida a zero-tolerance state for human trafficking. The office has formed multiple initiatives to fight this crime, from launching the Highway Heroes Campaign that aims to train Florida truck drivers to spot trafficking to creating the 100 Percent Club to recognize Florida businesses and organizations taking steps to train all employees on the signs of human trafficking and more. Resources are also available.

The Florida Statewide Council on Human Trafficking

The 15-member Council chaired by Attorney General Moody, builds on existing state and local partnerships working to combat human trafficking. Read the 2022 annual report.

The Florida Department of Health

The Florida Department of Health is taking a public health approach to combating human trafficking. Given the diverse populations the Department serves, there is great potential for victims of human trafficking to come into contact with the Department. The Department is committed to moving from awareness to action in its efforts to eradicate human trafficking in Florida. The website contains resources and information.

Florida Human Trafficking Screening Guide

This guide is designed to help child welfare and delinquency professionals screen for possible youth victims of human trafficking.

International Resources

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Human trafficking and migrant smuggling are global and widespread crimes that use men, women and children for profit. The organized networks or individuals behind these lucrative crimes take advantage of people who are vulnerable, desperate or simply seeking a better life. UNODC strives for the eradication of these crimes through the dismantling of the criminal enterprises that trade in people and the conviction of the main perpetrators. Ultimately,  their safeguards people from the abuse, neglect, exploitation or even death that is associated with these crimes.

Specific Populations

National Center for Youth Law - 2023

This organization has created a guide, entitled Improving Supports for Male Survivors of Sexual Exploitation, designed to help service providers break down biases and barriers to better identify boys and young men and help them recover and prosper.

The National Center for Youth Law has also created Strategies to End Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Youth: A toolkit for collaborative action, a practical how-to guide that offers best practices gleaned from our decade of working to address the commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth. The toolkit includes a collection of advocacy tools, on-the-go worksheets, case studies and other resources to boost the planning and implementation of a tailored, collaborative community reform strategy that advocates, policy makers, service providers, leaders can use in their communities to lay the groundwork for change themselves.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

This website highlights news, resources, and more related to human trafficking and the efforts of agencies to prevent incidents of trafficking.

Human Trafficking: Protecting Our Youth

This document is a one-page tip sheet for families that includes summaries about what's happening, what might be seen, and what can be done.

Voices from the Bench: Judicial Perspectives on Handling Child Sex Trafficking Cases - 2019

This document describes what judges have learned from their experiences handling domestic child sex trafficking (DCST) cases and implementing victim-centered approaches. It also serves as a practical reference source for juvenile and family court judges interested in improving outcomes in these challenging cases. It is our hope judges will use the information emerging from the field to improve their DCST practices and handling of these cases.

Court Specific Resources

Human Trafficking and the State Courts Collaborative

The collaborative is a joint effort between some of the nation’s most respected state court support and education organizations sponsored by the State Justice Institute in an effort to address human trafficking in the state courts. The HTC is coordinated by the Center for Public Policy Studies, The National Judicial College, the Center for Court Innovation, the National Association of Women Judges, Legal Momentum and the Center for Human Trafficking Court Solutions.

Human Trafficking and the Courts

The video,  From Defendant to Survivor: How Courts Are Responding to Human Trafficking, profiles three courts that have forged new responses to sex trafficking. A guide is also available to help viewers understand the key principles of court models that effectively divert human trafficking and prostitution cases from prosecution. The principles include responding to defendants’ trauma, connecting them to services, fostering collaboration across the agencies that support victims, and taking a flexible approach to how success is defined in light of the complex and unique challenges facing these victims.

Human Trafficking Task Force E-Guide

Most human trafficking courts take key principles from the problem-solving court model to address trafficking. This document produced by the federal Office for Victims of Crime describes the general characteristics found in most specialized human trafficking courts.

New York Human Trafficking Intervention Courts

The NY Unified Court System’s Human Trafficking Intervention Courts are committed to ensuring trauma-informed responses to justice-involved victims of sex trafficking.

Human Trafficking and Child Welfare

The Child Welfare Information Gateway

The growing awareness of human trafficking in the United States and abroad requires government and human services agencies to develop and implement effective policies and practices for identifying and serving. Child welfare agencies are often on the front lines of these changes as the first responders. Children and youth involved with the child welfare system due to abuse or neglect and then placed in foster care or group homes—as well as youth who are involved with the justice system or have run away, or become homeless, are often at higher risk of being trafficked. The Child Welfare Information Gateway has a wealth of resources available on their website.

Keeping Children Safe Online Guide

This guide assists parents, guardians, caregivers, and teachers by describing several measures they can take to help protect children from becoming victims of online child predators.