A 110-page report on the economic impact and prevalence of human trafficking in Texas from the University of Texas at Austin Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault shows trafficking costs the state billions.
The U.S. State Department defines human trafficking as "a form of modern-day slavery when a person is deceived or coerced in situations of prostitution, forced labor, or domestic servitude."
According to the 2016 report, almost 80,000 minors in Texas are victims of sex trafficking, 234,000 are victims of labor trafficking, and a total of 313,000 are victims of human trafficking in Texas.
The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 80% of all trafficking cases are sex trafficking. Minor and youth sex trafficking costs the state an estimated $6.5 billion in care to victims and survivors and related costs, the study said. Additionally, Texas is estimated to be losing almost $600 million in annual lost wages for labor trafficking victims.
The study's research on victims of minor sex trafficking studied demographics of children who were considered at a heightened risk, including children from abusive homes, children in foster care and children being served by the Department of Family and Protective Services. At least a quarter of the children were victims to sex trafficking.
Victims of labor trafficking were studied in populations of migrant workers, as well as those in the cleaning, construction, food and restaurant, and landscaping/groundskeeping industries.
The cleaning service industry led the study with the highest rate of labor trafficking victimization at 38%, followed by construction (35%), kitchen and restaurant (32%), then landscaping/groundskeeping (27%). Overall, 28% of migrant workers are found to be victims of sex trafficking.
The true scope of human trafficking crime and its impacts have been difficult to measure, the study said.
“This is our first glimpse into the scope and impact of human trafficking in Texas. Few states have this kind of insight into the number of people being exploited,” said IDVSA director Noël Busch-Armendariz, who led the study. “More important, each count reflects a human being living among us in slavery-like conditions. Our findings certainly give us all a call to action.”
This study was funded by a $500,000 from the Texas Office of the Governor Criminal Justice Division, and included efforts from the Institute, the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Texas at Austin and Allies Against Slavery.
