Domestic Workers

Prioritizing Survivor-Centered State Policies: The Fight for Fair Labor

Blog Post — September 22, 2023
From coast to coast, anti-trafficking advocates are joining with worker rights and prison reform partners to prevent labor trafficking. 

Labor Trafficking On Specific Temporary Work Visas Report

Published July 12, 2022
Data from the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline shows that guest workers who come to this country legally are frequently exploited and victimized by forced labor and other forms of trafficking.

D.C. Domestic Workers Deserve Protections

Blog Post — June 16, 2022
While trafficking and exploitation are illegal already, the fact that domestic workers have few enumerated rights under law makes them particularly vulnerable.

Domestic Workers Face Economic Devastation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Blog Post — April 14, 2020
As much of the country has begun working at home for some unknown period of time, the very people we trust to care for those homes, and for our loved ones, are facing economic devastation.

Positive Steps Toward Protecting House Cleaners, Nannies, and Other Domestic Workers

Blog Post — November 13, 2019
Nannies, housecleaners and health aides toil in private homes, behind closed doors, usually without onsite co-workers, and virtually without labor protections. All that makes them extremely vulnerable to labor trafficking. But two recent developments will go a long way toward helping keep this workforce safer in certain cities.

Systemic Change Matrix: Disrupting and Preventing Human Trafficking

Published May 31, 2018
This matrix depicts the 25 major types of human trafficking in the United States, cross-referenced with eight highlighted systems and industries.

New Report Spotlights the Trafficking of Nannies, House Cleaners, Other Domestic Workers in the U.S.

July 24, 2019
Nannies, house cleaners, home health aides, and other domestic workers frequently labor for extremely low pay, sometimes in conditions so abusive it amounts to exploitation and human trafficking, according to a report released by Polaris and the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

Human Trafficking at Home

Blog Post — July 23, 2019

A new report, a joint project of Polaris and the National Domestic Workers Alliance, is an attempt to put legal and societal recommendations forward by compiling and sharing qualitative and quantitative information about the realities of life for domestic workers.

Human Trafficking at Home: Labor Trafficking of Domestic Workers

Published July 1, 2019
Isolated working conditions, limited legal protections and vulnerabilities mean that some domestic workers become victims of labor exploitation and trafficking.

Trafficking at Home: A Recent Texas Case Shows Gaping Holes in Response and Protections for Domestic Workers at Risk

Blog Post — April 30, 2019

The son of the president of Guinea and his wife were recently sentenced to seven years in prison for labor trafficking. The facts of the case are profoundly disturbing, but they are not in any way surprising.

The Typology of Modern Slavery: Defining Sex and Labor Trafficking in the United States

Published March 1, 2017
From sex trafficking to labor trafficking, the ways humans are exploited differ greatly. Each type has unique strategies for recruiting and controlling victims and concealing the crime.

Survivor Story: A Global Journey to Help Her Family

Blog Post — November 30, 2015

Lynette came to America for an exciting new opportunity, hoping to help her family back home. But when she arrived, her employers subjected her to threats and abuse.

Need help? Polaris operates the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline.