Southwest Iowa Coalition on Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery. Traffickers use tactics of force, fraud or coercion to control victims for the purpose of commercial sex acts or labor services against his/her will. Tactics traffickers use include: violence, sexual violence, threats, blackmail, false promises, deception, manipulation, debt bondage and more to trap vulnerable individuals in horrendous situations. 

Recognizing trafficking victims can be hard, even though many are hidden in plain sight. A common perception of human trafficking is a victim being kidnapped and held hostage. While there are cases like this, it is far from the norm. There is no movement – or kidnapping – required for it to be human trafficking. Victims can still be living in their own home, attending school, and/or participating in activities in their community. Victims aren’t usually tied up physically, but often held hostage psychologically (Iowa Victim Service Call Center)