THE NEED
The number of identified cases of human trafficking increase each year across the country and in the state of Indiana. Since the National Human Trafficking Hotline was established in 2007 through the end of 2023, there have been 100,891 cases of trafficked adults and minors identified across the U.S., resulting in 197,000 victims identified. In the same period, 4,077 call originated in Indiana resulting in 1,235 cases of human trafficking in which 2,698 victims were identified. (Polaris, 2025)
Marginalized and vulnerable youth are at particularly high-risk:
- History of child abuse: 70 – 90%of youth who were sex trafficked reported a history of sexual abuse (Child Trafficking Collaborative Group, 2024)
- Child welfare involvement: 50 – 90% of children who were victims of child sex trafficking had been involved in the child welfare system (Child Trafficking Collaborative Group, 2024)
- Unstable housing: 64% of trafficking survivors reported experiencing homelessness or unstable housing at the beginning of their trafficking (National network for youth, 2023)(Polaris, 2018)
- Recent migration or relocation: #1 risk factor for labor trafficking (54%) in 2021(Polaris, 2018)
Online enticement:
- From 2020 – 2023, 59% of missing children involved in online enticement were younger than 15 years of age(National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2024)
In 2015 the Indiana Trafficking Victims Assistance Program (ITVAP) was created to raise awareness, increase identification of trafficked youth, and increase service resources to meet their needs. The program is funded by a grant from the US Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). Program creation included guidance from OVC Training and Technical Assistance Center as well as Wichita State University’s Center to Combat Human Trafficking. Grant partners include the Indiana State Police and IU School of Public Health. ITVAP also collaborates with a number of other local and state organizations. IYSA is a leader in best practices for youth work in Indiana and continues to learn from individuals with lived experiences to effectively address the needs of those impacted by human trafficking
WHAT ITVAP DOES:
- Provide trauma-informed, victim-centered training on identification and collaborative support of youth victims and survivors of labor and sex trafficking All trainings are provided at no cost (See Trainings page)
- Partner with local service providers throughout the state to facilitate delivery of services to victims and survivors up to 24 yr. (See Resources page). Since inception through January 2025, ITVAP partners have served over 1200 trafficked youth in addition to many more sexually exploited and high-risk youth
- Work to increase the number of service resources across the state for human trafficking victims and survivors through training, clinical support, and service reimbursement (See Resource page)
- Participate on the Indiana Protection for Abused and Trafficked Humans (IPATH) task force and work to build up regional coalitions across the state
- Partner with National Safe Place to increase safe place sites across the state
- 4 Regional Coalition Coordinators, in addition to 26 Youth Service Bureaus facilitate trainings across the state and engage and connect local stakeholders to respond to trafficking in their community
Data sourced by:
Child Trafficking Collaborative Group. (2024). Child sex trafficking: A Fact sheet for child welfare professionals.Los Angeles, CA and Durham, NC: National Center for Child Traumatic Stress.
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. (2024). Online enticement: An analysis of missing children and youth 2020-2023. Retrieved February 2025, from missingkids.org: https://www.missingkids.org/content/dam/missingkids/pdfs/online-enticement-an-analysis-of-missing-children-and-youth-2020-2023.pdf
National network for youth. (2023). Youth homelessness. Retrieved February 2025, from nn4youth: https://nn4youth.org/learn/youth-homelessness/
Polaris. (2018, July). On-ramps, intersections, and exit routes: a roadmap for systems and industries to prevent and disrupt human trafficking. Retrieved February 2025, from Polaris project: https://polarisproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/A-Roadmap-for-Systems-and-Industries-to-Prevent-and-Disrupt-Human-Trafficking-Housing-and-Homelessness-Systems.pdf
Polaris. (2025). National Statistics. Retrieved from National Human Trafficking Hotline: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/statistics