End Human Trafficking

night traffic
night traffic

Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery– a multi-billion dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to 20.9 million people around the world. And no matter where you live, chances are it’s happening in your community. From the girl forced into prostitution at a truck stop, to the man discovered in a restaurant kitchen, stripped of his passport and held against his will.
Polaris, named after the North Star that guided slaves to freedom in the U.S., disrupts the conditions that allow human trafficking to thrive in our society. From working with government leaders to protect victims’ rights, to building partnerships with the world’s leading technology corporations, we spark long-term change that focuses communities on identifying, reporting, and eliminating trafficking networks. Our comprehensive model puts victims at the center of all that we do–helping survivors restore their freedom, preventing more victims, and leveraging data and technology to pursue traffickers wherever they operate. Unparalleled expertise. Relentlessness. And an innovative spirit. This is how Polaris eradicates the slavery networks that rob human beings of their lives and their freedom.

U.S. NATIONAL HOTLINES

  • Operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline and BeFree Textline.
  • Provides survivors of human trafficking with vital support and a variety of options to get help and stay safe, and shares actionable tips and expertise with the anti-trafficking community.
  • 30,000+ instances of human trafficking identified and responded to. 8,000+ cases reported to law enforcement.
  • 88,000+ people trained in law enforcement, social services, and the private sector.

GLOBAL SAFETY NET

  • Promotes regional collaboration and supports robust anti-trafficking hotlines in North America and globally to help communities protect victims and learn where human trafficking is happening.
  • Supports a vital hotline partnership with Consejo Ciudadano in Mexico to support survivors, share data, and stop trafficking networks across borders.
  • Hosts the Global Modern Slavery Directory: a publicly searchable database of 2,000+ human trafficking organizations.

END TRAFFICKING IN ILLICIT MASSAGE BUSINESSES

  • Provides tools to city and state stakeholders to stop criminal human trafficking in illicit massage busi- nesses and ensures survivors receive the services they need to move forward.
  • Nearly 100 illicit massage businesses have been shut down in cities where Polaris is actively working.

END SEX TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN AND GIRLS FROM MEXICO

  • Increases awareness of sex trafficking within the Latino/Hispanic community to disrupt trafficking networks and support survivors.
  • Released groundbreaking report on sex trafficking of Latinas in U.S. cantinas and bars. Federal law enforcement agents and prosecutors are now using this data for their trafficking investigations.

DATA ANALYSIS

  • Analyzes data to find out where and how traffickers operate so that we can put them out of business, keep them from harming more people, and help survivors find the services they need.
  • Developing a first-of-its-kind classification system, or typology, of human trafficking in the United States.

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

  • Builds government support to eradicate all forms of modern slavery and protect victims of this crime.
  • As a premiere source of human trafficking policy expertise, helped pass 100+ anti-human trafficking state and federal laws.