Where You Live Defines Justice: Allies Against Slavery Report Shows Uneven Protections for Trafficking Victims

Data Reveals Rising Exploitation as Online Ads and Illicit Massage Businesses Surge Nationwide

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allies Against Slavery today released its 2026 State Human Trafficking Report, the preeminent report on human trafficking across the county. Researchers completed a comprehensive, evidence-based analysis of state laws, federal prosecutions, hotline activity, and demand-side indicators such as online commercial sex ads and illicit massage businesses across all 50 states to compile the report. The report, developed in collaboration with Polaris, The Network, and the University of Alabama Institute for Data Analytics, is designed to provide data-driven insights for policymakers, advocates, and community leaders to help guide and support their anti-trafficking efforts.

The report highlights five urgent findings:

• Since 2003, states have enacted 772 trafficking-related policies, but the safeguards they provide depend heavily on geography; Florida and Texas have adopted 22 of 25 core policies, while Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Vermont, and Wyoming have enacted fewer than half.
• Federal prosecutions remain heavily skewed toward child sex trafficking: of 2,561 federal trafficking cases filed between 2000 and 2023, 2,008 involve minor sex trafficking, more than double the combined total of adult sex trafficking and labor trafficking cases.
• Sentencing laws for a conviction of human trafficking vary dramatically across the country. Some states impose no mandatory minimums for trafficking while others require at least 20-year minimums, leading to unequal accountability and justice depending on where the crime occurs.
• The National Human Trafficking Hotline recorded 102,555 trafficking situations and 219,832 potential victims between 2007 and 2024, with the share of situations involving labor trafficking rising from 15 percent in 2015 to 22 percent in 2024, and mixed sex-and-labor cases growing from 4 percent to 13 percent.
• In 2024 alone, there were 19.3 million online commercial sex advertisements nationwide and 17,276 illicit massage businesses identified in the U.S., with some smaller and mid-sized states and cities showing the highest levels per capita—clear signals of concentrated demand and risk environments.
  
  

“Over two decades, the United States has built an impressive foundation of laws to address human trafficking, but the data are clear: we are still over-relying on prosecution and underinvesting in prevention,” said John Nehme, president and CEO of Allies Against Slavery. “When some states have adopted nearly all 25 core policies and others have passed fewer than half, it creates an uneven map of safety and justice that depends too much on your ZIP code.”

“The federal data tell a powerful and troubling story,” said Dr. Vanessa Bouché, Chief Impact Officer at Allies Against Slavery and lead author of the report. “Minors exploited in the sex trade are far more likely to see their cases prosecuted than adults or labor trafficking survivors, and sentencing ranges that swing from no minimum to 20-year mandatory minimums mean justice looks very different from state to state.”

“The convergence of policy, prosecution, hotline, and demand-side data makes this report uniquely actionable,” added Nehme.

The 2026 State Human Trafficking Report draws on 21 years of state legislative trends, 23 years of federal prosecution data, 18 years of National Human Trafficking Hotline data, and newly integrated datasets on commercial sex ads and illicit massage businesses. The full report, including state-by-state profiles, visual dashboards, and policy recommendations, is available at Allies Against Slavery’s website.

On Tuesday, February 24, at 11:00 am CST, Allies will host a webinar to deliver insights and actions that the data provided. Interested individuals can register here.

About Allies Against Slavery

Allies Against Slavery harnesses data to illuminate and eradicate human trafficking through its innovative data platform and strategic partnerships. Since 2010, they have worked to dismantle silos, build networks, and shine a light on the vulnerabilities that lead to exploitation. Their pioneering software, Lighthouse, aggregates national and statewide data to help professionals, leaders, and policymakers identify victims, coordinate care, and understand trafficking trends. By leveraging data, Allies is building a future where every community has the data it needs to combat and prevent human trafficking. Learn more about Allies Against Slavery here: https://www.alliesagainstslavery.org/

Media Contact:
Tad Druart
(512) 448-4950 or (512) 497-9880
tdruart@piercom.com

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