For Trafficking Survivors and Immigrants

What to do if you are in a trafficking situation

If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, call the Anti-Trafficking Program at 718.943.8631

You may also call our 24-hour Hotline at 800.621.HOPE (4673). The hotline is equipped to respond to inquiries in many languages and has TTY capability.

Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery, and it affects an estimated 700,000 to 2 million people worldwide every year. Victims are often led far from their home countries and forced, through physical violence and psychological threats, to engage in sex acts or work in slave-like conditions. Many people living in a situation of human trafficking take no action because they fear they will be deported.

Thousands of these victims land in the United States, with New York City serving as a major destination and transit point.

Safe Horizon’s Anti-Trafficking Program is staffed with experts who can meet the special needs of survivors of human trafficking. We offer case management, shelter and housing referrals, counseling and support groups, life-skills and vocational training to help trafficking survivors establish trust and start over.

Safe Horizon also offers free and low-cost legal assistance to immigrant victims of torture, crime, and abuse through our Immigrant Law Project.

Working with Domestically Trafficked Youth

The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act identifies trafficked minors as any person who is under the age of 18 years old and coerced, defrauded, or forced to work while a third party benefits from his/her labor. The act also identifies anyone who is under the age of 18 and participating in the commercial sex trade as a victim of trafficking, even if there is no force, fraud, or coercion involved and no third party is benefiting from the minor’s involvement in the sex trade.

If you would like to refer a young person, discuss a case, or host a training session, please contact Johannah Westmacott, Coordinator for Trafficked Minors, at 646-214-3817 or jwestmacott@safehorizon.org.

Know your rights!

Many people in abusive employment situations don’t seek help because they are afraid they lack a valid visa to the United States.

All individuals that work in the United States – regardless of immigration status – have the right to:

• Be treated and paid fairly;
• A safe and healthy workplace;
• Not be held in a job against their will;
• Keep their passport and other identification documents in their possession;
• Report abuse without retaliation;
• Be free from discrimination and harassment of any kind;
• Leave an abusive employment situation;
• Request help from unions, immigrant and labor rights groups and other groups; and
• Seek justice in U.S. courts.

It is also important to remember that there are many ways you can protect yourself. ALWAYS:

• Keep your passport in a safe, easily accessible place;
• Keep copies of your passport, visa, and employment contract in your home country with relatives or friends;
• Keep the phone number of your home country’s embassy on hand; and
• Keep a record of all the days and hours that you work, and the amount and date of each payment that you receive.

Learn more about human trafficking.