HUMAN & SEX TRAFFICKING — HUMAN & SEX TRAFFICKING — HUMAN & SEX TRAFFICKING — HUMAN & SEX TRAFFICKING —

Fighting for Survivors of Human and Sex Trafficking

There Is Life After Sex Trafficking—Including the Chance to Bring All Parties Involved in Exploiting You to Justice

No two survivors of human trafficking are alike. Their stories of exploitation often begin with some form of manipulation, abduction, threats, or physical violence. Some were roped into forced labor as adults, often those in marginalized communities or vulnerable situations. Others were groomed at a young age and whisked away from their families during childhood.

At Anapol Weiss, powerful female attorneys lift up vulnerable women, giving them a voice in the legal system.

In many cases, survivors of human trafficking were betrayed by someone they trusted: a recruiter promising them work opportunities and a better life, a volunteer at a community organization, a member of their church congregation, a family friend, or even their own parents.

That betrayal was only the start of what you suffered. It’s not just being forced into back-breaking work without pay. The victimization that occurs in the context of human trafficking is wide-ranging, encompassing exploitation, abuse, threats, physical and sexual violence, and a complete loss of control over your body and your life.

The Exploitation You Endured Was More Than a Crime—It Was a Human Rights Violation

Physical and sexual violence, or at least threats of violence, are often the tools traffickers use to maintain control over their victims. This includes isolating victims of sex trafficking, wrongfully detaining or imprisoning them, and drugging them.

These acts of violence and intimidation are, without question, illegal and unethical. They’re crimes, but they’re also egregious violations of your basic human rights. Traffickers and every person or party that’s complicit in their exploitation must face the consequences. They must be stopped to prevent further victimization and large-scale violations of human rights.

Tens of Millions of People Are Forced Into Labor and Exploited Across the Globe — And They All Deserve Justice and Support

Human trafficking organizations operate in secrecy, thriving all over the world through criminal plots, the negligence of property owners and organizations, and, of course, keeping victims silenced. It’s impossible to know the full extent of the serious problem of human and sex trafficking, but what is known is that tens of millions of people all over the world are being exploited annually.

According to data cited by the United States Department of State (drawn from a report prepared by the International Labour Organization, the Walk Free Foundation, and the International Organization for Migration), an estimated 27.6 million people were exploited in some form of forced labor at any given time during 2021. Forced labor in the private sector was estimated to be the most common form of trafficking globally, accounting for 17.3 million of these victims.

Another 6.3 million victims globally were forced into commercial sexual exploitation, and 3.9 million victims endured state-imposed forced labor. Individual survivors of human trafficking are not alone in the experience of being horrifically exploited. They don’t have to face life after trafficking alone, either.

The Legal System Often Lets Sex Trafficking Victims Down—But With a Dedicated Advocate, You Can Get Justice

When you have been forced into the sex trade or into work of any kind against your will, whether through threats, physical violence, pressure to pay a debt, or any other form of force, you can feel like a stranger in your own body and your own life. Attempts to escape or get help are risky. If these attempts fail and your trafficker finds out, the consequences could be nightmarish.

Like the trafficking itself, the event that finally led to your freedom from your trafficker can be traumatic. Although you’re no longer under the control of your trafficker, you likely feared for your life and your safety during the chaotic, emotionally charged incident that finally resulted in your freedom. Many victims are still afraid that they could end up in jail for the acts they were coerced into committing.

Despite being forced into the sex trade by their traffickers, some survivors have only been further victimized by the legal system. Historically, they have been charged with and even convicted of crimes associated with the acts they were forced into, adding insult to injury and subjecting them to the additional challenges of living with a criminal record. The authorities who had a responsibility to help them had only denigrated and harassed them. In some instances, survivors recall outrageous abuses of power in which law enforcement officers forced survivors of human trafficking into sexual acts, threatening to arrest the victim if they didn’t comply.

The justice system should protect the abused and vulnerable, not punish them for circumstances that were beyond their control or continue their exploitation. Through our work in the civil legal system, we advocate for survivors, protecting their rights, ensuring those responsible face consequences, and pursuing compensation that can help victims recover physically, emotionally, and financially.

At Anapol Weiss, Powerful Female Attorneys Lift Up Vulnerable Women, Giving Them a Voice in the Legal System

Traffickers and leaders of organizations that engage in sex trafficking and other forms of human exploitation should be held completely accountable for their actions. For the inhumane choice they made to exploit victims in the first place, as well as the subsequent choices they made every day to aid them in maintaining control, they deserve to face the consequences. Yet criminal cases can fall short of fully addressing the complex factors that contribute to human trafficking as well as the multiple layers of damages individual victims suffer.

The team of human trafficking and sex trafficking lawyers at Anapol Weiss pursues a different form of legal recourse through the civil court system.

A civil claim arising out of human trafficking can encompass not only the individual perpetrators of the crimes but also entities who were so significantly negligent that they could be considered complicit in the exploitation. When survivors of sex trafficking reflect on their experience, they often realize that other parties, like hotels and airlines, should have noticed that the situation was suspicious or inappropriate in some way. Although it may be difficult to prove that this entity broke any law, it may be possible to establish its liability for negligence that helped facilitate the mistreatment.

Additionally, the standard of evidence required for a civil legal matter is generally lower than that required for a criminal conviction. You may still be able to hold your trafficker and other parties accountable through civil legal action even if law enforcement has been unable to acquire enough evidence to prosecute the defendant.

Finally, although seeing your trafficker end up behind bars, where they belong, is validating, their criminal conviction won’t do enough to help you move forward. No matter how long they spend in jail, it won’t help you afford the physical and mental health services you need to recover. However, the compensation that Anapol Weiss gets for you through a civil legal claim will.

Women who have been knocked down over and over, figuratively and often literally, by human trafficking and exploitation can turn to our strong, compassionate team of female attorneys for support throughout everything that lies ahead. We assist sex trafficking victims without upfront costs, ensuring that survivors who most need legal help can retain our attorneys with no hesitation.

Fighting for Survivors of Human and Sex Trafficking

There Is Life After Sex Trafficking—Including the Chance to Bring All Parties Involved in Exploiting You to Justice

At Anapol Weiss, powerful female attorneys lift up vulnerable women, giving them a voice in the legal system.

YOU
DESERVE
JUSTICE

The Exploitation You Endured Was More Than a Crime—It Was a Human Rights Violation

Tens of Millions of People Are Forced Into Labor and Exploited Across the Globe — And They All Deserve Justice and Support

The Legal System Often Lets Sex Trafficking Victims Down—But With a Dedicated Advocate, You Can Get Justice

At Anapol Weiss, Powerful Female Attorneys Lift Up Vulnerable Women, Giving Them a Voice in the Legal System

Taking the Brave First Step:
‍What to Expect When You Reach Out to the Attorneys at Anapol Weiss

If you have a case, you will have the full force of our litigation team fighting for you. As a team of strong, dedicated female attorneys, we are committed to advocating for those who have suffered from violence and ensuring your voice is heard.

Fighting for Survivors of Human and Sex Trafficking

There Is Life After Sex Trafficking—Including the Chance to Bring All Parties Involved in Exploiting You to Justice

At Anapol Weiss, powerful female attorneys lift up vulnerable women, giving them a voice in the legal system.

YOUDESERVEJUSTICE

The Exploitation You Endured Was More Than a Crime—It Was a Human Rights Violation

Tens of Millions of People Are Forced Into Labor and Exploited Across the Globe — And They All Deserve Justice and Support

The Legal System Often Lets Sex Trafficking Victims Down—But With a Dedicated Advocate, You Can Get Justice

At Anapol Weiss, Powerful Female Attorneys Lift Up Vulnerable Women, Giving Them a Voice in the Legal System

Taking the Brave First Step:‍What to Expect When You Reach Out to the Attorneys at Anapol Weiss

If you have a case, you will have the full force of our litigation team fighting for you. As a team of strong, dedicated female attorneys, we are committed to advocating for those who have suffered from violence and ensuring your voice is heard.

YOU
DESERVE
JUSTICE

Taking the Brave First Step:
‍What to Expect When You Reach Out to the Attorneys at Anapol Weiss