"Operation Cross Country" rescues more than 200 trafficking survivors.

In recent years, reports on trafficking from the national human rights office and the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, and from the Inter-American Forum on Combatting Human Trafficking have consistently called out the need to create programs to care for young and adolescent boys who are survivors of sexual violence and human trafficking. 

As part of our ongoing discussion of hidden homelessness, this week we highlight the tragic reality of the prevalence of human trafficking.

The United States Trafficking Victim Protection Act defines human trafficking as: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, obtaining and/or provision of a person or persons, by the use of force, fraud, and/or coercion, for the purpose(s) of labor and/or sexual exploitation.

Across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America, where Covenant House provides residential programs and vital services to children and youth facing homelessness, the most common form of human trafficking is commercial sexual exploitation. Young women and girls are the most at-risk of trafficking.

Covenant House meets trafficking survivors’ immediate needs for food, clothing, shelter, safety, and medical care and we recognize their unique needs for extra levels of protection, including safe places and rigorous mental health care to help them sort through their experiences and reclaim their potential.

No one organization or law enforcement can fight human trafficking alone. It takes a combined, coordinated effort. Read more about the recent law enforcement nationwide sweep in this CBS article.