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As a survivor of human trafficking, I know that exiting an abusive situation does not guarantee freedom. Among other burdens, many of us carry criminal records for actions we were forced to commit while trafficked — records that keep us from financial stability and put us at risk for revictimization, even years removed from trafficking. … Continued

A conference on human trafficking changed my life. At the time, I was in ministry, and I knew human trafficking was a real problem. A friend and I found a relevant conference and decided to attend to build our knowledge, skills, and new connections. But something shifted during lunchtime. As the speaker shared, I felt hot tears begin rolling down my face. When my friend asked me what was wrong, I whispered, “They’re telling my story.”

It took me a year and a half to realize that what I’d experienced was labor trafficking. Initially, I kept going through my memories, trying to understand what happened. It was hard to distinguish the lies my trafficker told me from what actually happened. And I was trying to process the psychological trauma of what I went through. 

I didn’t always identify as a survivor of human trafficking. I exited before trafficking was a buzzword. I was in and out of domestic violence shelters in Michigan, who were aware that I was involved in prostitution but didn’t identify it as trafficking. For years, I thought of myself as an ex-prostitute — after all, … Continued

I remember getting out of prison and being barred from employment because of my criminal record. Even though the system claimed to have resources to rehabilitate me, I couldn’t get the help I needed through the police, courts, probation officers, or anyone else. I felt like I was walking on eggshells, terrified that one wrong step would send me back to prison.

It wasn’t until my trafficker abandoned me on the street — eight and half months pregnant — that I finally found the connection that saved my life and transformed my future. After I called 911, the paramedics stabilized me and my unborn baby, and the hospital social worker found a bed for me at a local maternity home for homeless expectant mothers.

Human trafficking is one of the most intractable human rights challenges of our time. Despite decades of effort and courageous frontline work, the field has struggled with a persistent gap: the inability to see, with clarity and scale, how systemic factors like housing, migration, and economic policy shape vulnerability and where interventions can truly change trajectories.

With the support of HHS’s Office on Trafficking In Persons, Polaris operated a trusted national lifeline for trafficking victims for almost two decades — a program built from a survivor’s vision and expanded through deep listening and action. That experience made one thing clear: stopping trafficking means going beyond crisis response.  Survivors asked us to … Continued

In 2007, Polaris helped bring a bold survivor idea to life: a national human trafficking hotline. With the support of HHS’s Office on Trafficking In Persons, we built it from the ground up and operated it for nearly two decades, connecting hundreds of thousands of people to safety, support, and justice. But from the very … Continued