Sex trafficking occurs when and individual is exploited for a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. When an individual is under the age of 18, any commercial sex act is considered trafficking regardless of force, fraud, or coercion. While movement or transportation of the individual may occur as part of the crime, movement is not a requirement. A person can be trafficked within their own state, city, community, or home. Learn more about federal anti-trafficking laws from the Polaris Project.
While not traditionally emphasized within organizations focused on sexual abuse and domestic violence, labor trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel someone to work or provide services. Labor and sex trafficking frequently intersect, and individuals experiencing labor trafficking often endure sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of sexual abuse. Recognizing the overlap between these forms of exploitation is critical to providing comprehensive services and survivor-centered support.
The International Labor Organization estimates that human traffickers generate billions of dollars in profits every year by exploiting millions of people in the U.S. and around the world. Maryland is no exception. The state’s population density, proximity to major domestic, interstate, and international transportation corridors, and its wide range of socioeconomic conditions make Maryland a hot spot for human trafficking.
Trafficking occurs in rural, suburban, and urban communities in every state across the country, and can be found in both seemingly legitimate business settings as well as underground markets. While anyone can be targeted, traffickers tend to prey on individuals who are marginalized or otherwise vulnerable. Such vulnerabilities may include prior experiences of sexual violence and trauma, homelessness, involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, those who have experienced substance abuse themselves or within their families, immigration related vulnerabilities, LGBTQ+ identity, individuals who are developmentally or intellectually delayed, and many others. Many trafficked individuals are misidentified as “troublemakers,” “criminals,” or “runaways” when they appear in public systems such as schools, healthcare settings, or the criminal justice system. This further isolates them and prevents them from accessing essential resources and support. Some victims remain hidden from view, but many regularly interact with community members who may not recognize the signs of exploitation.
Despite growing public awareness about this crime, human trafficking remains vastly underreported. Barriers include limited understanding of the issue, fear of physical and legal retaliation, the covert nature of the crime, and a lack of trust in law enforcement, social services and non-profits agencies due to prior negative experiences. Additionally, stigma surrounding commercial sex in general, and the persistent misconception that males cannot be victims of sex trafficking, further silences survivors and prevents them from accessing help.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, there has been a dramatic rise in online human trafficking recruitment, grooming, and exploitation, particularly of youth and young adults. Traffickers increasingly use social media, gaming and livestreaming platforms, messaging apps, and online job postings to identify, manipulate, and control potential victims. These online spaces allow traffickers to build trust, exploit vulnerabilities, and move interactions into more private digital settings, making detection difficult.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the number of online enticement reports, where an adult communicates with someone believed to be a child for purposes of sexual exploitation, increased over 300% between 2021 and 2023. NCMEC’s CyberTipline, which serves as a national clearinghouse for online child exploitation reports, received 20.5 million reports in 2024, reflecting both the growth of online activity and the evolving tactics of traffickers and exploiters.
Service providers, educators, and law enforcement agencies are racing to keep up with these rapidly changing methods. Prevention efforts increasingly focus on digital literacy, online safety education, and survivor-informed approaches that empower youth and families to recognize and report online grooming and trafficking attempts.
For more information, prevention tips, and reporting tools related to online exploitation and digital trafficking, visit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Maryland has enacted major reforms to its human trafficking laws since 2007, when sex trafficking was first established as a state-specific crime. MCASA played a leading role in advocating for this landmark legislation in Annapolis, and continues to work to strengthen the state’s response to survivors of sex trafficking and to individuals who experience sexual abuse within the context of human trafficking. Since 2007, MCASA has remained on the frontlines of advocacy and legal support, advancing legislative efforts, providing comprehensive legal representation for survivors through the Sexual Assault Legal Institute (SALI), and promoting statewide initiatives to prevent trafficking in Maryland.
Since 2007, Maryland has continued to make strides in strengthening its human trafficking laws. In the area of criminal record relief, Maryland law now allows individuals whose involvement in certain offenses was a direct result of being trafficked to file a motion to vacate the judgment under Maryland Criminal Procedure § 8‑302. This process removes those convictions from being treated as criminal convictions for any purpose. The enactment of a “Safe Harbor” law, which took effect on October 1, 2023, prohibits the criminal prosecution of minors for certain offenses that were committed as a direct result of being a victim of trafficking. Finally, the creation of the Regional Navigator Program, under the Maryland Safe Harbor Regional Navigator Grant Program, connects youth who are at risk of or experiencing trafficking with coordinated services such as safety planning, housing, counseling, and case management. This program helps to ensure early access to trauma-informed supports rather than punitive responses. Every Maryland county has a designated regional navigator, and both the Department of Social Services (DSS) and Law Enforcement are required to refer any youth suspected or identified as victims of human trafficking to the program. For more information about the Regional Navigator Program, please visit the Governor's Office of Crime Prevention & Policy's page on human trafficking.
MCASA is also a proud member of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, as well as many local and regional task forces and collaboratives across the state. These local groups play an essential role in advancing county-level and community based anti-trafficking initiatives, ensuring that prevention, intervention, and policy efforts are responsive to the unique needs of each region.
Survivors of sex trafficking often have very complex needs, requiring a multidisciplinary approach to address severe trauma, medical needs, safety concerns, housing, employment opportunities, immigration and other legal issues.
