In 2012, CALCASA was asked to join the California Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Workgroup. We are proud to announce the availability of “The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012“, a document that assesses the current landscape and understanding of human trafficking in California as well as provides recommendations on ways to improve both prevention and intervention efforts. According to the report,

With the passage of AB 22 in 2005, the California Legislature defined human trafficking as “all acts involved in the recruitment, abduction, transport, harboring, transfer, sale, or receipt of persons, within national or across international borders, through force, coercion, fraud, or deception, to place persons in situations of slavery or slavery-like conditions, forced labor or services, such as forced prostitution or sexual services, domestic servitude, bonded sweatshop labor, or other dept bondage”.

The scope, magnitude, and reach of human trafficking has changed since the last report complied by the AG’s office (Human Trafficking in California 2007). Innovations in technology have made it easier for traffickers to recruit new victims and conduct business online. Additionally, criminal organizations and street gangs have turned to trafficking victims as a lower risk and more profitable alternative to drug trafficking.

This report has updated data on the scope of trafficking in California, as well as recommendations for systems change and suggestions for direct service providers to enhance California’s ability to respond to the needs of survivors and prevent human trafficking (specifically, check out Chapter 5 – Victim Centered Approach: Protecting and Assisting Victims of Human Trafficking).

We hope that this will prove to be a valuable resource for everyone in California working to address human trafficking.

For more information about the California Attorney General Office’s work to combat human trafficking, please visit their website dedicated to this issue.