ABSTRACT
Human trafficking has become a “hot topic” in the general media, yet the perception that victims of human trafficking crimes bear a responsibility for their victimization has long hampered the criminal justice system from increasing the priority associated with preventing and ending these types of offenses. Individuals who are vulnerable to victimization tend to either have an illegal status or a status that denies them full independence under the law. Children who run away from home, immigrants entering the country illegally, the mentally impaired, and individuals who are not able to prove their lawful status as a resident or citizen are the easiest targets of trafficking victimization.
