About Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a severe form of exploitation for labor (including sex) involving force, fraud, or coercion.
Exploitation: The action or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work.
Force: To make someone do something against their will.
Fraud: Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.
Coercion: The practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats.
Who experiences it?
Human trafficking is a crime against a person, not a border. It can impact individuals from a range of diverse backgrounds and identities, including:
- Those at risk of or experiencing homelessness
- Individuals struggling with substance dependency
- LGBTQIA+ community members
- Sex Workers
- Minors not residing with legal guardians
- Undocumented individuals
- Asylees and refugees
Where does it happen?
Human trafficking occurs across Colorado, in both urban and rural areas. It can take place in a variety of settings and sectors, including:
- Food service and hospitality
- Construction
- Farming and agriculture
- The commercial sex industry
- Temporary foreign worker visa programs
- Debt bondage scenarios with recruiters or smugglers
- Involuntary servitude or forced marriage arrangments
- Exploitave labor operations involving children
How to help
Volunteer
Become a volunteer advocate for Colorado’s Human Trafficking Hotline. Advocates take calls/texts remotely and are trained to handle a variety of scenarios with a focus on connecting callers to the hotline’s vetted list of statewide resources.
Get Trained
Grow your knowledge about human trafficking. LCHT leads trainings for community groups and a variety of professionals on the frontlines of combatting human trafficking in Colorado.
Donate
Your generosity has the power to advance progress through anti-trafficking training, community-based research, the strengthening of Colorado’s 24/7 Human Trafficking Hotline, and the development of future human rights leaders.
Stay informed
Keep up with the latest in Colorado’s anti-trafficking movement.
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Common myths & misconceptions
What’s Happening in Anti-Trafficking
Our Stories
How Stable Housing Can Help End Trafficking in Colorado
For many people experiencing homelessness who are in a trafficking situation, it can be hard to get help. In other cases, traffickers may confiscate documents to maintain control. In other words, housing insecurity is both a cause AND a consequence of trafficking.
Protecting the Rights of Migrant Sheepherders
Meet Tom Acker, the Co-Founder of Western Slope Against Trafficking (WSAT), a community partnership that supports survivors of human trafficking and raises awareness about this widespread human rights crisis through training and community education.
Advocating for Migrant Workers Targeted by Labor Traffickers
While a group of immigrant attorneys founded RMIAN in the early 90s to serve low-income men, women, and children in immigration proceedings; today, that mission has expanded to include their Anti-Human Trafficking Project.