Print
Common Terminology

Asking individuals for their preference for self-identification and respecting their choice is key to trauma-informed, person-centered care.

Coercion

May involve threats of serious harm to or physical restraint against any person; any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act would result in serious harm to or physical restraint against any person; or the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process (22 U.S.C. § 7102)

Force

May involve the use of physical restraint or serious physical harm; physical violence, including rape, beatings, and physical confinement, is often used as a means to control victims, especially during the early stages of victimization when the trafficker breaks down the victim’s resistance (per Administration for Children and Families)

Fraud

Involves false promises about employment, wages, working conditions, or other matters (for example, individuals might travel to another country under the promise of well-paying work at a farm or factory only to find themselves manipulated into forced labor); others might reply to advertisements promising modeling, nanny, or service industry jobs overseas but instead be forced into prostitution when they arrive at their destination (per Administration for Children and Families)

Harboring

Sheltering or hiding trafficked persons

Health Equity

Equal opportunities to be healthy despite factors related to an individual's social position, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual identity, or disability that may limit that ability

Human Trafficking

A crime involving the exploitation of someone for the purpose of compelled labor or a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion; where a person younger than age 18 is induced to perform a commercial sex act, it is a crime regardless of whether there is any force, fraud, or coercion (22 U.S.C. § 7102).

Intimate Partner Violence

Physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, and psychological aggression (including coercive acts) by a current or former intimate partner (per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Mandated Reporter

A person who, because of his or her profession, is legally required to report any suspicion of child abuse or neglect, intimate partner violence, and/or human trafficking to the relevant authorities per federal and state requirements

Obtaining

Acquiring or securing trafficked persons

Patient/Client

An individual you encounter in a professional capacity

Provision

The action of providing or supplying trafficked persons

Public Health Approach

Seeks to simultaneously meet the needs of those affected by human trafficking and address the root causes of trafficking to prevent future incidences; recognizes the negative impacts of human trafficking on individuals and communities; aims to reduce risk factors that make certain populations more at risk of trafficking by implementing interventions and determining their effectiveness

Recruitment

Enlisting persons under false pretenses into a situation in which they may be trafficked

Social Determinants of Health

Conditions in which people live and work throughout their lifespan, including socioeconomic status, education, physical environment, employment, and social support networks

Smuggling

Illegal transportation of consenting individuals across a national border

Survivor

An individual working toward healing in the aftermath of the trauma of being a victim of trafficking

Transportation

Act of transporting a trafficked person

Trauma-Informed Care

Organizational approach to providing services that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of various trauma

Victim

An individual who has experienced trafficking; the term "victim" is used when referencing rights or resources that a victim is legally mandated to receive

Ready to SOAR?

Layout Image - SOAR Logo.Learn more about SOAR trainings for individuals, organizations, and communities. 

Submit Feedback

Please take a moment and provide your feedback about your experience using the SOAR eGuide. 

Take the Survey