Mackenzie Purdy, Grand Canyon University
Human trafficking does not always look like a locked room—it can look like a job. Labor trafficking is embedded in the economy and our daily lives. While sex trafficking dominates headlines, labor trafficking fuels industries in ways we fail to see. From 2011 to 2022, 17 U.S. states reported no labor trafficking arrests, highlighting severe enforcement gaps and neglect in victim identification (Dominguez et al., 2024). Labor trafficking remains large and undetected due to misinformed public perceptions and a lack of victim identification training in law enforcement. This paper explores the often-overlooked issue of labor trafficking, using an interdisciplinary approach that integrates law, economics, and sociology. This approach highlights the gaps in current anti-trafficking policies and argues that addressing labor trafficking requires a shift from a criminal justice-centered response to a broader strategy, utilizing economics and sociology to implement victim support systems and economic deterrence in industries. By expanding the scope of anti-trafficking efforts to include greater support for law enforcement, alongside corporate accountability and victim protections, more sustainable solutions that protect vulnerable workers and disrupt exploitative systems can occur.
Key Words: Labor trafficking, victimization, legal enforcement, victim services, societal stigmatization, supply chain, Trafficking Victims Protection Act