Human Trafficking Is a Democracy Issue
By Jane Ruby (LWV Chicago) & Sarah Warner (LWV Berrien and Cass Counties), LWVUS Representatives to the United Nations
When people hear the words “human trafficking,” they may think first of something distant, hidden, or too large for a civic organization to touch. But human trafficking is not distant. It exists in every state, in cities and rural communities, in workplaces, homes, supply chains, and online spaces. It is often hidden in plain sight.
We have seen again and again how issues of human rights, gender justice, migration, labor exploitation, poverty, and democratic participation are connected. Human trafficking sits at the intersection of all of them. It is not only a crime. It is an assault on human dignity, personal freedom, and the ability of survivors to stand fully in public life.
That is why the LWVBCC”s Resolution on Human Trafficking presented at LWVUS Convention matters.
The League has not been silent on this issue. Since 2014, LWVUS has had a national position opposing all forms of human trafficking, including sex trafficking and labor trafficking, involving adults and children, domestically and internationally. That position recognizes trafficking as a form of modern-day slavery and calls for prevention, enforcement, victim services, and education in our communities and schools.
So the resolution did not ask the League to adopt a new position or begin a new study. It asked us to remember what we already said we believed, and to bring that commitment into the work we already do so well: public education, civic engagement, defense of rights, and protection of democratic participation.
For us, the democratic connection is essential. Trafficking disproportionately affects people who already face barriers to power and participation, including communities of color, Indigenous women and girls, immigrants, LGBTQ+ youth, and people living in poverty. Survivors may also be criminalized for acts they were forced to commit, and those convictions can carry lasting consequences, including loss of voting rights and civic standing. When someone’s freedom is stolen and then their voice is diminished, that is not separate from democracy. It is central to it.
For League advocacy, this resolution offers a practical and powerful framework. The League was born from a constitutional expansion of democracy. Our work has always been about who is seen, who is heard, who is protected, and who gets to participate. Human trafficking strips people of all of that. LWVUS’s resolution affirmed that the fight against trafficking is part of the fight for human dignity and democratic inclusion. It is League work because the people most vulnerable to exploitation are also among those our democracy most often fails to protect.
The League’s mission is to empower voters and defend democracy. That mission has always required us to look beyond Election Day. A democracy worthy of the name depends on whether people are free, safe, informed, and able to participate. Anti-trafficking awareness belongs in that broader civic picture. For example, voter registration training often overlooks address confidentiality programs, leaving volunteers with little to no knowledge that they exist. However, address confidentiality programs are little-known tools that can allow survivors of human trafficking, stalking, domestic and sexual violence to register to vote using a dummy address to protect their identity and location. Having knowledge of these tools allows voter outreach to go deeper, and meet survivors where they are at in their lives and recovery. This resolution urges Leagues to get educated on these programs and incorporate training on them into their voter outreach so that we can make sure all voices are heard in our democracy-- not just those with privilege and comfort.
Our task now is to carry that understanding home, into our Leagues, our communities, and our advocacy. No person is disposable. No voice is beyond our concern. And no democracy is whole while people are denied freedom in its midst.