Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. It is an illegal practice in which traffickers will use force, fraud, or persuasion to make victims engage in commercial sex acts or services of labor against their will.
Combatting Massage Licensing Fraud
Gaps in regulation, oversight, and communication among state massage therapy boards (MTBs) and state education authorities are exploited by the IMI to operate diploma mills, which offer fake transcripts and certificates. IMI actors then attempt – too often, successfully — to leverage the fake transcripts and test fraud to obtain LMT licenses. More permissive states that do not exercise adequate oversight and regulation over massage education and licensing regimens thus help IMI networks move and expand nationally. State massage licensing regulations seek to assure common standards of safety, expertise, and professionalism among licensed therapists (LMTs).
A Toolkit for Identifying Human Trafficking and Fraud in Higher Education
This toolkit, co-authored by FSMTB Executive Director Dr. Debra Persinger and Lorna Candler of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, is a practical guide for state authorizers to identify and take action on human trafficking in higher education institutions. The toolkit focuses on sex trafficking that is increasingly perpetrated in higher education by organized, sophisticated criminal enterprises that stretch regulatory and enforcement resources. The toolkit is specifically designed to assist state regulators and agencies, organizations, or entities that regularly intersect with the responsibilities and duties of state regulators.
Human Trafficking Task Force Report
The FSMTB Human Trafficking Task Force released the Human Trafficking Task Force Report in November 2017. This report is the culmination of nearly two years of study, listening, discussion, and consensus-building. It includes an evaluation of the prevalence and impact of human trafficking on the massage profession, areas within the jurisdiction of FSMTB to combat human trafficking, and measures that individual Member Boards could pursue to curtail or eliminate human trafficking in the massage profession.
The Network
The Network is an intelligence-driven counter-human trafficking organization focusing specifically on human trafficking in the massage industry in the United States.
The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC)
888-373-7888
The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) is the national anti-human trafficking hotline and resource center. The NHTRC serves victims and survivors of human trafficking and the anti-trafficking community throughout the United States. The toll-free hotline is available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in more than 200 languages.
Polaris Project
202-790-6300
Polaris is a leader in the global fight to eradicate modern slavery. Polaris systemically disrupts the human trafficking networks that rob human beings of their lives and freedom. The Project helps survivors restore their freedom, prevents more victims, and leverages data and technology to pursue traffickers wherever they operate.
DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) is to advance counter human trafficking law enforcement operations, protect victims, and enhance prevention efforts by aligning DHS’ capabilities and expertise.