Human Trafficking in the Restaurant Industry Remains a Serious Problem

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When most folks hear the words “human trafficking,” they automatically think about sex trafficking. Sex trafficking is the most common form of human trafficking; however, other variations, such as debt bondage, organ harvesting, and labor trafficking remain very much pervasive.

Because labor trafficking isn’t as openly discussed by the mainstream as sex trafficking, it can easily fly under the radar. Unfortunately, labor trafficking remains very real with an untold number of people suffering in its clutches.

One place where labor trafficking tends to occur is in the restaurant industry. Reporting this structure of human trafficking is also often easier said than done.

A closer look at labor trafficking in the restaurant industry

Many individuals facing trafficking in the restaurant industry may suffer from poverty or not have legal citizenship in the United States. In numerous cases, human traffickers use these vulnerabilities as leverage to manipulate and coerce their victims.

Traffickers also tend to mislead their victims about the work they’re getting into, along with its compensation. In labor trafficking, bait and switch is an all too common tactic employed by perpetrators to gain control.