Human trafficking is often thought of as a problem indigenous only to developing nations. However, the phenomenon is pervasive internationally, including in the United States. Examples of human enslavement in the U.S. that have recently been exposed by the media and law enforcement have been found in the fields of domestic service, prostitution, farm labor, factories, and mining (Bales & Soodalter 2007). "Trafficking supplies human beings for prostitution, sweatshop labor, street begging, domestic work, marriage, adoption, agricultural work, construction, armed conflicts (child soldiers), and other forms of exploitive labor or services" around the world (Loring, Engstrom, Hilliard, & Diaz 2007:1). These cases represent only a proverbial 'tip of the iceberg' of the phenomenon as it exists today. The phenomenon of globalization has increased the flow of human traffic worldwide, not only in legitimate spheres of labor, but also in the arenas of human trafficking. "Human trafficking represents perhaps the worst form of labor exploitation and can be regarded as one of the dark sides of globalization" (Loring, Engstrom, Hilliard, & Diaz 2007:1). It can be very difficult to estimate exactly how pervasive the phenomenon is, given the secrecy surrounding the practice. Even victims of the crime themselves may not reveal when they have been enslaved when they come into contact with authorities, because of fears of reprisals from their enslavers and because they are likely to be undocumented workers. For example, statistics indicate that of women in the sex slave industry, 28% saw a health care professional yet only a very small percentage were released from their captivity after the initial visit, after which they returned to their abusive situation (Dovydaitis 2007).

Estimates of the pervasiveness of human trafficking vary wildly. For example, a 2005 International Labor Organization report estimated that there were...

All reports agree more women than males are victims. The United Nations states that an exact figure is "unachievable" (Loring, Engstrom, Hilliard, & Diaz 2007:1). But it is agreed that "profits from the trafficking industry contribute to the expansion of organized crime in the U.S. And worldwide" and that human enslavement is "fastest growing source of profits for organized criminal enterprises worldwide" (Fact Sheet, 2010, HHS).
The United States has attempted to extend legal protections to victims of human enslavement. For example, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 "attempted to give law enforcement agents additional tools to deal with the phenomenon of human trafficking" and made trafficking a federal crime (Fact Sheet, 2010, HHS). According to the TVPA, if a trafficking crime causes the death of a victim or attempted murder, or includes kidnapping or attempted kidnapping; aggravated or attempted aggravated sexual abuse, the perpetrator can be sentenced to life in prison. There are additional penalties for trafficking involving crimes perpetrated upon children. "Protection and assistance for victims of trafficking under the law include making housing, educational, health care, job training and other Federally-funded social service programs available to assist victims in rebuilding their lives. The law also established the T. visa, which allows victims of trafficking to become temporary residents of the U.S." (Fact Sheet, 2010, HHS). The TVPA was updated and reauthorized in 2003.

However, there is a great deal of criticism that has been leveled at the TVPA and the way it is enforced in practice. "Specifically, victims who have been raped, tortured, or otherwise brutalized, as is common in human trafficking, often suffer severe psychological trauma, which may make them incapable of discussing the…