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28 Million people
ARE TRAFFICKED WORLDWIDE.
We cannot end this one person, one survivor at a time. But with your help, we can target the systems that make human trafficking possible.
Myth
Human trafficking is always or usually a violent crime.
Reality
The most pervasive myth about human trafficking is that it often involves kidnapping or physically forcing someone into a situation. In reality, most traffickers use psychological means such as, tricking, defrauding, manipulating or threatening victims into providing commercial sex or exploitative labor.
Myth
All human trafficking involves commercial sex.
Reality
Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud or coercion to get another person to provide labor or commercial sex. Worldwide, experts believe there are more situations of labor trafficking than of sex trafficking, but there is much wider awareness of sex trafficking in the U.S. than of labor trafficking.
Myth
Traffickers target victims they don’t know.
Reality
Many survivors have been trafficked by romantic partners, including spouses, and by family members, including parents.
Who We Are
Founded in 2002, Polaris is named for the North Star, which people held in slavery in the United States used as a guide to navigate their way to freedom. Today we are filling in the roadmap for that journey and lighting the path ahead.
Serving victims and survivors through the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Building a dataset that illuminates how human trafficking really works, in real time.
Turning knowledge into targeted systems-level strategies to disrupt and prevent human trafficking.
National Survivor Study
The National Survivor Study is a scientifically rigorous research project developed in full partnership with survivors of human trafficking to gain insights that we can use to push for real and impactful change.
Increase Funding for Worker Protection Agencies
Chronic underfunding of the federal agency charged with protecting workers means labor traffickers are able to operate with impunity because they are pretty sure no one is watching. That has to change. The U.S. Department of Labor must have the resources to hire, train and deploy inspectors who visit job sites and make sure workers are being treated fairly.
Human Trafficking Training
Compassionate, committed individuals that care are the most powerful resource there is to prevent and reduce human trafficking. However, to leverage this power, we must ensure we are armed with the knowledge necessary to do the work.