A Caution About Online Resources
While the Internet makes it possible for students to access plenty of excellent information, it also provides a platform for individuals and groups to spread misinformation. Indeed, some have used serious problems such as human trafficking to disseminate falsehoods, to advance conspiracy theories, and even to recruit people who will sympathize with their causes. These tactics are especially common on social media. It is crucial to vet sources thoroughly--to challenge extreme ideas, to check credentials, and to look for bias. For more about how to avoid false information, see Oakton's guide about Fake News: Telling Fact from Fiction.
Here are two articles explaining how one conspiracy group co-opted hashtags on social media to gain supporters: one from Atlantic and one from NBC News.
Government Websites
- Office for Victims of Crime
OVC is a division of the Department of Justice. Its mission is to assist crime victims and to providing leadership in changing attitudes, policies, and practices to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime. - Blue Campaign (Department of Homeland Security)
Blue Campaign is a national public awareness campaign, designed to educate the public, law enforcement and other industry partners to recognize the indicators of human trafficking, and how to appropriately respond to possible cases. The Blue Campaign is a component of the Department of Homeland Security - FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation examines matters where a person was induced to engage in commercial sex acts through force, fraud, or coercion, or to perform any labor or service through force, coercion, or threat of law or legal process. - Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services provides information specifically about minors who are trafficked. - 2018 Illinois Human Trafficking Task Force Report (PDF)The final report of the Joint Task Force on Human Trafficking required per Public Act 099-
0864 of the Illinois 100th General Assembly. - DHS Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking A 2022 document produced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security outlining the government's response to the problem of human trafficking.
Non-Governmental Organizations
Polaris is a charity aimed at disrupting trafficking networks. Their website provides information and resources.
Anti-Slavery International is the world’s oldest international human rights organization, founded in 1839 by British abolitionists such as Thomas Clarkson.
The Human Trafficking Center (HTC) seeks to use academic rigor, sound methodology, and reliable data to promote understanding of human trafficking and its causes, conditions, and cures. The HTC is housed within the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver
Videos
Frontline is an investigative journalism program of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
Length: 54:47
Faces of Human Trafficking is a series of short videos from the Office for Victims of Crime. The entire playlist is available by clicking here.
Length: 6:09
In this TED Talk, journalist Noy Thrupkaew explains how forced labor provides consumers with bargains. Find her recommended reading list here.
Length: 18:51