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 arrangements
Exploitative labor operations involving children

“What I want people to know is that they have rights. They have rights to the money that they earned. They have rights to leave an employer. They have rights to access the resources that they need to build better lives.”

Amanda Finger

LCHT Executive Director

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.

Become an Advocate

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.

Make Your Gift

Stay informed

Keep up with the latest in Colorado’s anti-trafficking movement.

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Common myths & misconceptions

Myth: Only foreign nationals or immigrants can be trafficked.

Reality: US citizens, visa holders, and undocumented workers—can all be exploited and are all protected under federal human trafficking laws.

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Myth: Human trafficking requires travel or crossing borders.

Reality: Transportation isn’t essential. While often used for control, it’s not required to qualify as human trafficking as defined. Trafficking ≠ migration or smuggling. It’s a crime against a person, not a border

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Myth: Human trafficking equals human smuggling.

Reality: Smuggling crosses borders, trafficking abuses people. Different U.S. federal crimes. Smuggling breaches borders illegally; trafficking involves forced labor or commercial sex through coercion, without needing transportation.

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Myth: Human trafficking requires physical force or bondage.

Reality: Trafficking doesn’t demand physical restraint or harm be present. Psychological control through threats, fraud, or abuse suffices. The Traffficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 expanded to cover subtler coercion beyond just bodily harm, contrasting earlier standards.

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Myth: Trafficking victims immediately ask for help.

Reality: Survivors don’t always seek help instantly or even identify as victims. Factors like mistrust of systems, trafficker manipulation, and trauma can prevent victims from seeking aid or connecting with resources for a long time.

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Myth: Trafficking victims only arise from poverty.

Reality: Poverty can make people vulnerable, but it’s not the sole cause. Trafficking affects various income levels; even those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds can be exploited

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Myth: Sex trafficking is the only form of human trafficking.

Reality: The federal definition of human trafficking encompasses both sex trafficking and labor trafficking, and can impact both adults and minors of all genders.

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Myth: Human trafficking only occurs in illegal underground industries.

Reality: Trafficking exists in legal businesses too, not just underground markets. It’s reported in places like restaurants, hotels, and farms, as well as within black markets like street-based commercial sex work.

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