BELONG

People who identify as LGBTQ+ can be especially vulnerable to human trafficking

The Equality Act

LGBTQ+ people are particularly vulnerable to human traffickers in part because bias and discrimination in things like jobs and housing gives traffickers an opening to step in and pretend to be the answer to a problem. The Equality Act would make such discrimination illegal under federal law. The House of Representatives passed the Equality Act in March 2021 with a bipartisan vote. Now, it’s up to the Senate to make it law – contact your U.S. Senators today.

Social Media Toolkit

During Pride month it is important to stand proud in the face of discrimination and recommit to supporting and serving ALL of our communities. Due to the pandemic, there are more people than ever, who are vulnerable, to the lure of traffickers promising love, safety, shelter, and economic stability. Let’s get the word out that there are options available through the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Additional Information

We have also created resources that are aimed at helping LGBTQ+ trafficking victims and survivors. These include resources for LGBTQ+ youth who may be experiencing trafficking or know someone who is, for service providers and criminal justice professionals so they can learn more about how to promote healing, and for LGBTQ+ community members and advocates so they can become even stronger allies in the fight against human trafficking.

We encourage you to read these posts and resources and share them with your networks. The more people learn about human trafficking of LGBTQ+ people, the better equipped we’ll all be to fight it.

Blogs

Resources

Getting Help

If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free hotline, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733 to speak with a specially trained Anti-Trafficking Hotline Advocate.

If looking for an anti-trafficking program that specializes in serving LGBTQ+ populations, you can use our online public Referral Directory and add a “Specialized Competency” to your search. Users can also quickly identify organizations that specialize in serving LGBTQ+ populations by locating the Pride flag marker.