Adopted as APA Policy by the APA Council of Representatives in February 2017
WHEREAS human trafficking is a human rights violation, especially into the sex trade, slavery, and involuntary servitude defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, or abduction, or fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation (American Psychological Association, 2009; American Psychological Association, 2014; UN, 2000; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2014); and
WHEREAS globally and in the United States human trafficking, especially sex trafficking, disproportionately affects women and girls and gender nonconforming people. (APA, 2009; APA, 2014; UNODC, 2014; U.S. Department of State, 2022); and
WHEREAS human trafficking also affects other highly vulnerable populations to human trafficking, including but not limited to the economically
vulnerable, persons with disabilities, and runaway youth, with disproportionate vulnerability for youth who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ+) (Ahrens, Katon, McCarty, Richardson & Courtney, 2012; Gerassi, 2015; Muftić & Finn, 2013; Reid, 2012; Sallman, 2010; Silbert & Pines, 1981; U.S. Department of State, 2014, 2016);
WHEREAS there is a need for the United States to continue to strengthen a domestic and transnational agenda to combat human trafficking (U.S. Department of State, 2015); and
WHEREAS victims of human trafficking in the United States have been identified in multiple legal and illicit industries (APA, 2009; U.S. Department of State, 2015) and practicing psychologists may interact directly (e.g. health care centers, substance abuse recovery programs) or indirectly (e.g. organizational psychologists consulting to businesses that are at high risk for trafficking) with these victims; and
WHEREAS practicing psychologists also may interact with populations identified as being at highest risk for human trafficking in the United States, such as children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and many other hard to detect “hidden” vulnerable populations (Hepburn & Simon, 2010; Herman, 2003; Phillips, 2015; Pierce, 2012; Reid & Piquero, 2014; U.S. Department of State, 2014); and
WHEREAS increasingly, since the passage of the Trafficking Victim's Protection Act (2000), the need to define non-violent forms of psychological coercion exists to support U.S. law enforcement's increasing number of human trafficking investigations and prosecutions (Burke & Zarembka, 2008; Kim, 2007, 2011; U.S. Department of Justice, 2015); and
WHEREAS there is consensus in the United States that existing anti-trafficking laws have only partially protected victims of human trafficking (Polaris Project, 2015; Reiger, 2007; TVPA, 2000; TVPRA 2003, 2005, 2008, 2013); and
WHEREAS in the United States anti-trafficking task forces need resources to increase their ability to work effectively across multiple disciplines (Office for Victims of Crime & Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2011); and
WHEREAS health and social service providers need training and tools to identify and attend to victims effectively (OVC & BJA, 2011); and
WHEREAS public awareness about human trafficking still needs to reach broader communities and communicate more information about the nuances of this crime (Farrell & Pfeffer, 2014; Greenbaum, 2015; Roe-Sepowitz, Hickle, Dahlstedt, & Gallgher, 2014; Cole & Sprang, 2015); and
WHEREAS promising evidence exists that suggests that addressing sex buying in the United States may reduce rates of sex trafficking (Ali, 2009; Shively et al., 2012; Shively et al., 2010); and
WHEREAS there are limited studies in the United States on the profile of traffickers and their unique pattern(s) of perpetration (APA, 2014; Human Rights Center, 2005; Kamazima, Kazaura, Ezekiel, & Fimbo, 2011) and existing studies suggest that traffickers have a broad profile (Denton, 2016; Human Rights Center, 2005; Kamazima et al., 2011; Roe-Sepowitz, Gallagher, Risinger & Hickle, 2015; UNODC, 2014), high levels of psychopathy (Hargreaves-Cormany, Patterson, & Muirhead, 2016), and sometimes use, in addition to physical violence and sexual assault other, non-violent, forms of manipulation and psychological coercion (Burke & Zarembka, 2008; Kim, 2011; Kim, 2007; Muftić & Finn, 2013; Sallman, 2010; U.S. Department of Justice, 2015); and
WHEREAS human trafficking exposes victims to physical, sexual, and psychological abuse that incur in serious and complex health and psychological consequences (Cole, Sprang, Lee, & Cohen, 2016)
WHEREAS in addition to a trafficker's threats of retaliatory violence (Farrel, 2014; Nichols & Heil, 2012), historical criminalization of persons involved in the sex industry (Busch-Armendariz, Nsonwu, Cook Heffron, Garza, & Hernandez, 2009; Cross, 2013; Gerassi, 2015; Lange, 2011; Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, 2003; Roe-Sepowitz et al., 2014), as well as complex psychological symptoms that can result from trafficking, such as mistrust, may deter victim participation in prosecutions and in health and social services (U. S. Department of State, 2015; Gibbs, Walters, Lutnick, Miller, & Kluckman, 2015; Pierce, 2012; Raphael, Reichert, & Powers, 2010; Reid, 2013; UNODC, 2014; Zimmerman et al., 2003); and
WHEREAS relationally-focused, trauma-sensitive, and culturally-responsive approaches delivered within a social ecological framework to treat the complex psychological consequences of human trafficking are needed (APA, 2014; Contreras, Kallivayalil, & Herman, 2016; Gibbs et al., 2015; Reid, 2016); and
WHEREAS prevention programs addressing human trafficking and re-trafficking are needed for those in health care, in schools, and other community venues is required to educate the public (Cecchet & Thoburn, 2014; Reid, 2012; Reid, 2011; Silbert & Pines, 1981; Widum & Kuhns, 1996); and
WHEREAS in the United States there is still a limited research base to understand the multiple factors related to human trafficking, and an urgent need exists to collect data on human trafficking to determine a global estimate of victims, and explore its causes and psychological consequences despite the enormous challenges involved in conducting such research (APA, 2009; APA, 2014; UNODC, 2014; Martin, 2013; Yonas, Burke, & Miller, 2013);
WHEREAS one of the global recommendations on conducting human trafficking research is to support small and methodologically strong studies to identify the more nuanced characteristics of human trafficking (UNODC, 2014)
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the American Psychological Association: Continues in its commitment to educate the public, promote awareness, and disseminate research findings to the general public, professionals working with at-risk populations, and professionals engaged in research about consumers, traffickers, and trafficked persons;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that APA encourages government and philanthropic organizations to fund research that would address gaps in knowledge related to human trafficking address the following gaps in knowledge related to human trafficking:
- The risk and protective factors related to all victims of human trafficking in the United States with special focus on the most vulnerable populations such as women and girls;
- The strengthening of transnational collaborations between professionals and organizations participating in global anti-trafficking efforts;
- The training of professionals in information about industries where victims of trafficking are commonly found, and populations at highest risk of human trafficking;
- The impact of societal biases on providing services to survivors;
- The psychology of traffickers and trafficked persons;
- The impact of psychological trauma as a contributor and consequence of human trafficking;
- The nature of all forms of human trafficking (e.g. sex trafficking, labor trafficking);
- The evaluation of programs and treatments provided to survivors of human trafficking.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that APA encourages the involvement of psychologists to assist in the development of effective cross-disciplinary anti-trafficking task forces; and to contribute to other community, state, and federal efforts in anti-trafficking;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that APA strongly encourages that research initiatives and program development efforts include the participation of persons directly affected by human trafficking and community based organizations with experience serving trafficked persons;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that APA encourages existing legislation and policies include increased focus on protecting the human rights of trafficked persons and non-criminalization of such persons;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that APA strongly endorses the development and implementation of rigorously tested interventions that prevent and address the consequences of human trafficking;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that APA strongly endorses that psychology partner with legal professionals to redefine psychological coercion in cases of human trafficking;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that APA strongly encourages supporting research that can generate accurate estimates of human trafficking and evidence-based health services for survivors of human trafficking; and,
Be IT FURTHER RESOLVED that APA supports and advocates for evidence-based policy and services for survivors of human trafficking.
Suggested Citation
American Psychological Association. 2017. Resolution on Human Trafficking in the United States, Especially of Women and Girls. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/about/policy/trafficking-women-girls.
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