Definitions of Human Trafficking - Michigan

Defined in Child Protection Law

Citation: Comp. Laws § 722.622

The term 'sexual abuse' means engaging in sexual contact or sexual penetration with a child as those terms are defined in the penal code. The term 'sexual exploitation' includes allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in prostitution, or allowing, permitting, encouraging, or engaging in photographing, filming, or depicting a child engaged in a sexual act.

Definitions of Labor Trafficking

Citation: Comp. Laws §§ 750.462d; 750.462e; 750.462a

It is unlawful for a person to do either of the following:

• Knowingly recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain an individual by any means, knowing that individual will be subjected to forced labor or services or debt bondage
• Knowingly benefit financially or receive anything of value from participation in an enterprise that has engaged in an act prohibited by this chapter

It is unlawful for a person to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain by any means a minor for forced labor or services, regardless of whether the person knows the age of the minor.

The term 'forced labor or services' means labor or services that are obtained or maintained by force, fraud, or coercion. The term 'force' includes, but is not limited to, physical violence or threat of physical violence or actual physical restraint or confinement or threat of actual physical restraint or confinement without regard to whether injury occurs. The term 'fraud' includes, but is not limited to, a false or deceptive offer of employment or marriage.

The term 'coercion' includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:

• Threatening to harm or physically restrain any individual or the creation of any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause an individual to believe that failure to perform an act would result in psychological, reputational, or financial harm to, or physical restraint of, any individual
• Abusing or threatening abuse of the legal system, including threats of arrest or deportation, without regard to whether the individual being threatened is subject to arrest or deportation under the laws of this State or the United States
• Knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any actual or purported passport or other immigration document or any other actual or purported government identification document from any individual without regard to whether the documents are fraudulent or fraudulently obtained
• Facilitating or controlling an individual's access to a controlled substance for other than a legitimate medical purpose

The term 'debt bondage' includes, but is not limited to, the status or condition of a debt arising from a pledge by the debtor of his or her personal services or those of an individual under his or her control as a security for a debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not specifically limited and defined.

The term 'financial harm' means any of the following:

• Criminal usury, as prohibited by § 438.41
• Extortion
• Unlawful employment contracts
• Any other adverse financial consequence

Definitions of Sex Trafficking of Minors

Citation: Comp. Laws §§ 750.462e; 750.462a

It is unlawful for a person to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain by any means a minor for commercial sexual activity, regardless of whether the person knows the age of the minor.

The term 'minor' means an individual who is younger than age 18.

The term 'commercial sexual activity' means one or more of the following for which anything of value is given or received by any person:

• An act of sexual penetration or sexual contact as those terms are defined in § 750.520a
• Any conduct prohibited under § 750.145c (pertaining to child sexually abusive activity or material)
• Any sexually explicit performance as that term is defined in § 722.673

The term 'services' means an ongoing relationship between a person and an individual in which the individual performs activities under the supervision of or for the benefit of the person, including, but not limited to, commercial sexual activity and sexually explicit performances.