What is NOT trafficking in persons?

Illegal adoptions: The kidnapping or unlawful buying/selling of an infant or child for the purpose of offering that child for adoption represents a serious criminal offense, but it is not a form of human trafficking, as it does not necessarily involve the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel services from a person. As stated in the travaux preparatoires of the Palermo Protocol, only “where illegal adoption amounts to a practice similar to slavery . . . it will also fall within the scope of the Protocol.”

The trade in human organs: The trade in human organs – such as kidneys – is not in itself a form of human trafficking. The international trade in organs is substantial and demand appears to be growing. Some victims in developing countries are exploited as their kidneys are purchased for low prices. Such practices are prohibited under the Palermo Protocol, for example when traffickers use coercive means, such as force or threats of force to secure the removal of the victim’s organs.

Child pornography: Sex trafficking of children can involve several different forms of exploitation, including the production of child pornography. However, the production of sexual images representing children – which increasingly includes drawings and computer-generated images – is not sex trafficking unless a child is actually induced to perform a commercial sex act for the purpose of producing the pornography. Distribution and possession of child pornography, while often criminally prohibited, are not acts of human trafficking.

Prostitution: Prostitution by willing adults is not human trafficking regardless of whether it is legalized, decriminalized, or criminalized. However, pursuant to the TVPRA of 2008, the definitions of human trafficking under U.S. law are not construed to treat prostitution as a valid form of employment. The TIP Report evaluates the efforts of countries with legalized prostitution to reduce the demand for commecial sex acts as part of its assessment of the countries’ serious and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons.