Human Trafficking Database
Welcome to the Human Trafficking Law Project (HTLP) database. Launched in February 2011 by the Human Trafficking Clinic at Michigan Law School, the HTLP is the first publicly available database of human trafficking cases within the United States. Through the HTLP, the Clinic hopes to help strengthen anti-trafficking laws in the United States and to support government officials, law enforcement, and practitioners who are working on behalf of human trafficking victims.
To learn more about our review process and how we gather cases for inclusion in the database, please see our Research Methodology.
Currently, the database does not have a boolean search function. You will not be able to search for a combination of words or phrases using terms such AND, OR, and NOT.
- When searching for specific cases, you must enter a word or phrase exactly as it appears in the database in order to retrieve the cases. For example, if you are looking for cases from New York State, you must search for New York, rather than NY. Do not use quotation marks around the search term(s).
- The cases have been coded using specific fields. Although you may search for cases using any word or term, the following fields may help to guide your search:
- case name
- defendant name
- gender of defendant(s) (male, female, female and male)
- victim's country of origin
- age of victim(s) (adult, minor, adult and minor)
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- gender of victim(s) (male, female, female and male)
- type of industry (labor, sex, labor and sex)
- type of case (civil or criminal)
- type of trial (judge or jury)
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- year of arrest or verdict (e.g., 2008)
- type of court (state or federal)
- state where the trial occurred
- criminal or civil charge(s) (e.g., money laundering)
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- You may also limit your search to cases that fall under one or more of the categories listed below. These are the categories we use to analyze instances of human trafficking, and represent those industries most likely to exploit trafficking victims.
- Escort Service/Brothel
- Pornography
- Commercial Sexual Exploitation/Prostitution
- Commercial Sexual Exploitation/Prostitution (johns/other buyers)
- Strip Club
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- Massage Parlor
- Other Sex Industry
- Agricultural Industry
- Carnival Industry
- Clothing/Garment Industry
- Construction Industry
- Domestic Servant
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- Factory Worker
- Hair/Nail Salon
- Nightclub Industry
- Peddling/Begging Rings
- Restaurant/Bar Industry
- Traveling Sales Crew
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