Individuals and Families > Victims > Human Trafficking Initiative > What Is Human Trafficking
What Is Human Trafficking?
Ohio’s legal definition of human trafficking, “Trafficking in persons,” states that “no person shall knowingly recruit, lure, entice, isolate, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or maintain . . . another person knowing that the person will be subjected to involuntary servitude or be compelled to engage in sexual activity.”
This definition encompasses two broad subtypes: sex trafficking and labor trafficking.
- Sex trafficking is the use of force, fraud, coercion, or compulsion to convince someone to engage in commercial sex. For children under the age of 18 and people with developmental disabilities, law enforcement does not need to prove that the person was engaged in commercial sex through force, fraud, coercion or compulsion – they are considered victims of sex trafficking under the law.
- Labor trafficking is the use of force, fraud, coercion, or compulsion to convince someone to perform labor or services.
Additional learning