United Against Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is the act of compelling someone to work or engage in commercial sex, for little or no pay, through force, fraud, or coercion. It is a crisis around the world and around the corner, taking place in rural communities, in suburban neighborhoods, and on city streets in every country, as well as every state and territory in the U.S. While human trafficking can happen anywhere, systemic injustices like poverty, racism, homophobia, sexism, and more lead some people to face a higher risk than others. Marginalized and under-resourced communities are disproportionately affected by human trafficking. Learn more about human trafficking here. 

UNITED WAY’S CRITICAL ROLE

Since 2015, United Way has been bringing anti-trafficking efforts to scale by energizing, coordinating, and mobilizing the United Way Network. We are working to create effective community-based solutions, galvanize collaboration across sectors, and build public and political will to scale strategies across the world that find, stop, and prevent human trafficking.  Leveraging a global network of 1,100 United Ways in 37 countries and territories, we are innovating where needed, uplifting good work already being done, elevating survivor leadership, and utilizing the United Way Network to catalyze the anti-trafficking movement.

Our anti-trafficking efforts center around three key focus areas: 1) building capacity of the United Way Network to engage in anti-trafficking efforts through best practices; 2) advancing awareness of human trafficking among our Network, other stakeholders, and the public; and 3) enabling career pathways and holistic supports for people with lived experience of human trafficking.

UNITED AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING IMPACT REPORTS

In these reports, you will see the many ways United Way is making an impact and combating this injustice. Whether it's spearheading innovative community-based programs, leading global awareness campaigns, or building career pathways for survivors, our aim is to build a united front in the fight against human trafficking.

2021-2023 Report 2015-2021 Report