Title: Myths & Facts | National Human Trafficking Hotline
Headings: Myths & Facts
Myths & Facts
Myth: It’s always or usually a violent crime
Myth: All human trafficking involves commercial sex
Myth: Only undocumented foreign nationals get trafficked in the United States
Myth: Human trafficking only happens in illegal or underground industries
Myth: Only women and girls can be victims and survivors of sex trafficking
Myth: Human trafficking involves moving, traveling or transporting a person across state or national borders
Myth: All commercial sex is human trafficking
Myth: If the trafficked person consented to be in their initial situation, then it cannot be human trafficking or against their will because they “knew better”
Myth: People being trafficked are physically unable to leave their situations/locked in/held against their will
Myth: Labor trafficking is only or primarily a problem in developing countries
Myth: Traffickers target victims they don’t know

Content: Human trafficking cases have been reported and prosecuted in industries including restaurants, cleaning services, construction, factories and more. Myth: Only women and girls can be victims and survivors of sex trafficking
Reality: One study estimates that as many as half of sex trafficking victims and survivors are male. Advocates believe that percentage may be even higher but that male victims are far less likely to be identified. LGBTQ boys and young men are seen as particularly vulnerable to trafficking. Myth: Human trafficking involves moving, traveling or transporting a person across state or national borders
Reality: Human trafficking is often confused with human smuggling, which involves illegal border crossings. In fact, the crime of human trafficking does not require any movement whatsoever.