INTRODUCTION
The methods used by traffickers to recruit, coerce, and exploit victims of trafficking are ever-changing. For this reason, we turn to data to help us better understand how traffickers operate and to create informed and targeted solutions to protect victims and stop traffickers.
The Federal Human Trafficking Report (FHTR) provides objective, quantifiable information to guide practitioners as they develop impactful responses to combat human trafficking. By examining specific data points year-over-year the, FHTR helps practitioners better recognize emerging trends, patterns, and relationships that may not be immediately recognizable in a crime that often occurs behind closed doors. The data provided in the FHTR is intended to serve as a resource and a tool for prosecutors, investigators, and practitioners in their efforts to combat human trafficking. The FHTR is neither an indicator of the prevalence of human trafficking in the United States nor a reflection of the investigations and prosecutions that take place at the state level, outside the federal court system.
CASES
1.1 NEW CASES
In 2023, there were 202 criminal cases of human trafficking filed in the federal court system. This number was a <1% decrease from 2022 when prosecutors filed 203 cases.
Most human trafficking cases filed in the federal court system do not reach disposition within the same calendar year in which they were filed. Human trafficking investigations and prosecutions can span over several months and even years. Cases that have not yet reached disposition in the court system are considered “pending.” The Federal Human Trafficking Report (FHTR) considers a case to be pending in 2023 if the government filed charges in a federal court in any year and the case is still open with at least one defendant awaiting trial or sentencing, or at least one defendant has time remaining to file a direct appeal in the case. Of the 202 cases filed in 2023, 13 (6%) received disposition within the same year. The remaining 189 (94%) cases were pending in the court system at the end of the 2023 calendar year.2 Of the 13 cases that were both filed and disposed of within the calendar year of 2023, 12 cases were disposed of by plea agreement, and 1 case was dismissed by the Court.
1.2 PENDING CASES
A consistent correlation between the number of new cases filed and the number of cases pending indicates that cases move steadily through the federal judicial system. The year 2023 concluded with 816 human trafficking cases pending in the federal court system. This number is lower than the 894 pending trafficking cases in 2022.
1.3 CASE TYPE
In 2023, 98% (197) of the 202 criminal cases filed included at least one charge for sex trafficking. The remaining 2% (5) of cases filed involved at least one charge of forced labor. While some cases can involve both sex trafficking and forced labor, there were 2 cases identified in 2023 containing both types of charges. The total number of new sex trafficking cases decreased in 2023 by <1%4 and forced labor cases remained the same.
Historically, the number of sex trafficking prosecutions 98% SEX TRAFFICKING has significantly surpassed the number of forced labor cases filed. Over the past 5 years, 3% of new criminal cases filed were forced labor, 97% were sex trafficking. Since the enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in 2000, 5% of the cases filed were for forced labor.
1.4 CASE TYPE BY DISTRICT
In 2023, 71 of the 94 U.S. federal districts initiated at least one human trafficking case. This is an 8% increase from 2022 when 66 districts filed human trafficking cases. There were 197 sex trafficking cases initiated across 70 of the 94 federal districts, and 5 forced labor cases initiated across 5 of the 94 federal districts. The map below provides a visual representation of cases filed in each U.S. District Court in 2023.
DEFENDANTS
The Federal Human Trafficking Report (FHTR) reports annually on the number of human trafficking cases filed in U.S. federal courts. However, this number alone does not fully reflect the federal response to human trafficking. It is crucial to also consider other data points, including the number of defendants charged each year.
2.1 NEW DEFENDANTS
In 2023, there were 202 criminal human trafficking cases filed against 271 defendants. This is a 3% increase from the 263 defendants charged in 2022. The number of defendants charged in 2023 is the first increase in defendants charged in a single year since 2019.
Traffickers may exploit more than one victim at a time, perhaps exploiting multiple victims over extended periods. In 2023, single defendants exploited an average of 3.3 victims in each case charged.9 For this reason, we must examine both the number of cases charged each year and the number of defendants prosecuted to better understand the impact of the federal response to trafficking.
In 2023, numerous federal districts led in the number of defendants charged with human trafficking. The Southern District of Texas charged more defendants (20) with human trafficking than any of the other 94 federal districts.
2.2 PENDING DEFENDANTS
At the conclusion of 2023, there were 1,193 pending criminal defendants in 816 human trafficking cases in the federal court system. This number is slightly down from 1,343 pending defendants at the end of 2022. The number of pending defendants has stayed relatively consistent over the last five years.
2.3 DEFENDANTS BY CASE TYPE
As in previous years, there were fewer forced labor cases filed than sex trafficking cases in 2023, resulting in fewer defendants charged with forced labor than sex trafficking. Of the 271 defendants charged in 2023, 3% (9) were charged in forced labor cases, and 97% (262) of defendants were charged in sex trafficking cases. In 2023, there were 3 defendants identified as charged with both forced labor and sex trafficking charges.
VICTIMS
Understanding how traffickers recruit, coerce, and control victims of human trafficking is essential not only to protect victims of human trafficking but also to prevent the exploitation of future victims. This section will examine victim demographics and vulnerabilities in trafficking schemes.
3.1 VICTIMS
In 2023, there were 670 victims in human trafficking cases filed in the federal court system. Of the 670 victims, 296 were identified by prosecutors in charging documents—usually by initials or pseudonyms, for anonymity— and 374 victims were identified by the Federal Human Trafficking Report (FHTR) through reviews of case documents and public sources. Most importantly, like all the data presented in the FHTR, it is inaccurate to use the following information as a reflection of the prevalence of victims in the U.S. or to extrapolate demographic trends to victims beyond those named in federal prosecutions.
3.2 VICTIMS BY CASE TYPE
Of the 670 victims in cases filed in 2023, 95% (638) were victims of sex trafficking and 5% (32) were victims of forced labor. The total number of victims in 2023 increased by 39% from 2022 when there were 482 victims identified.
3.3 VICTIM DEMOGRAPHICS: AGE & GENDER
Twenty-nine percent (196) of the 670 victims in cases filed in 2023 were minors, 25% (169) were adults, and 46% (305) of the victims’ ages were unknown. The amount of public information relating to victims in human trafficking cases is limited, therefore the age of victims cannot always be determined.
Gender was identified for 275 of the 670 victims in 2023 cases; 37% (251) were female, 4% (24) were male, and 59% (395) of victims’ gender was unknown. Adult females accounted for 15% (99) of victims, and minor females comprised 23% (151) of victims. There were 15 adult males (2%) and 9 (1%) minor male victims. The combination of age and gender was unknown for the remaining 396 (59%) victims at the end of 2023.
Public sources rarely reveal information about gender identity or sexual orientation. In 2023, there was one victim who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ). Because of the limited amount of publicly available information on the sexual orientation or sexual identity of victims, the number of persons within the LGBTQ community who are impacted by human trafficking is unclear and may be underrepresented.