As defined under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), victims of human trafficking can be divided into three populations:
- Children under age 18 induced into commercial sex
- Adults aged 18 or over induced into commercial sex through force, fraud or coercion
- Children and adults induced to perform labor or services through force, fraud or coercion
There have been multiple revisions of the TPVA to include more resources and more populations at risk:
2003
- Expansion with focus on International Trafficking
2005
- Inclusion of measures to protect Domestic Survivors
2008
- Expansion of prevention and prosecution
- Expansion of protection for victims of trafficking
- Expansion of services to victims, especially children
2013
- Programs to ensure that U.S. citizens do not purchase products made by victims of human trafficking
- Prevention of child marriage
- Strengthens collaboration with state and local law enforcement to ease charging and prosecuting traffickers