Partner Spotlight: Trauma-Informed Legal Assistance for Human Trafficking Survivors
- The Friendship Center
- Apr 30
- 8 min read
Landscaping is the most commonly referenced type of labor trafficking and exploitation involving H-2B visa holders in cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Montana Legal Services Association’s Alix House shares about a new program offering legal assistance to human trafficking survivors and those at risk of being trafficked.
As part of a survey we shared earlier this year, we asked our readers to tell us which topics they’re most interested in. Human trafficking is one of several topics that the majority of our respondents so far have expressed interest in learning more about. The timing was lucky, as one of our key partners has a new program dedicated to providing trauma-informed legal assistance to human trafficking survivors, and the attorney at the helm of it was kind enough to share more about it for this month’s partner spotlight. Led by Alexandra “Alix” House of Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA), the Montana Human Trafficking Rights Project was launched in January with funding from a three-year grant program through the US Department of Justice’s Office of Victims of Crime.
While The Friendship Center can and does serve people who’ve experienced human trafficking, and it can certainly overlap with other forms of violence and abuse, clients who reach out for services don’t often identify as trafficking victims, at least not at first. The reluctance to disclose or genuine inability to recognize violent victimization is something we see across the board with violent crimes. As Alix points out in our Q&A, there are many reasons for that. And the parallels between intimate partner and/or sexual violence and trafficking don’t end there. Much like intimate partner violence and sexual violence, for example, trafficking is most often perpetrated by somebody known to the victim, and coercive control is a cornerstone of how traffickers manipulate, oppress, and intimidate their victims, many of whom are already at elevated risk of experiencing violence because of factors like age, gender, immigration status, language barriers, poverty, or disability. Another similarity between human trafficking and crimes related to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking is that popular misconceptions can cloud how well the public—and often survivors themselves—understand these dynamics.
In a January article highlighting MLSA’s new program, Alix addressed one such misconception: While sex trafficking is often what comes to mind at first mention of human trafficking, Montana has much more significant rates of labor trafficking. The cases Alix has seen already bear that out, with the majority involving labor trafficking of undocumented people. While trafficking is underreported in general, labor trafficking is reported at even lower rates than sex trafficking, which shapes the public perception of this crime, who perpetrates it, and who it most affects in Montana. To learn more about the signs of trafficking, the challenges survivors face, and how the Montana Human Trafficking Rights Project can support victims, we hope you’ll check out what Alix had to say. Along with general information about the nature of human trafficking, Alix shares a bit about the surprising trajectory of her legal career that has led her to her recent work representing victims of sexual assault and human trafficking, and helping them navigate the legal system.
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
TFC works with several MLSA attorneys who provide legal assistance for victims of domestic violence and other crimes, but earlier this year, you all let us know that you have a new program dedicated to providing specialized legal assistance for victims of human trafficking. To get us started, can you talk about this program? For comparison, how would MLSA have been able to help trafficking survivors in the past and how does this program change or expand that?
AH: This new grant allows us to provide legal services to anyone who has been trafficked in the past, is currently being trafficked, or is at risk of trafficking. In the past, MLSA would have been able to assist trafficking victims through our crime victims group (we had 2-3 dedicated attorneys to assist victims of crime). Due to grant conclusions, we now have a part-time attorney who assists victims of crime generally, and I can assist those who qualify in the above criteria for the human trafficking grant.
I can assist those who qualify with any civil legal issues that arise from the victimization. For example, if a person has been trafficked by an intimate partner and now needs a parenting plan or divorce, I can help. If there are still immediate safety concerns, I can help the client secure an Order of Protection. If a victim has not yet reported the criminal activity to law enforcement and has concerns about doing so, I can meet with them to discuss the potential pros and cons of reporting. If the client decides to proceed with reporting, I can facilitate the meeting with the appropriate law enforcement agency and accompany them to the meeting. If the case proceeds to prosecution, I can assist the victim at every stage of the proceeding, from potential plea negotiations to victim impact statements and restitution at sentencing.
It’s probably daunting to ask you to describe everything you wish people knew or understood about human trafficking, but could you paint the picture for us with basic facts? What should we know about the prevalence of human trafficking, what it usually looks like in our area, common characteristics of perpetrators, and who’s at highest risk for being trafficked?
AH: Trafficking is an incredibly broad field. There are two main types of human trafficking under the federal definition—Sex Trafficking and Labor Trafficking. Most folks think of sex trafficking and things like the movie Taken, but we have high rates of labor trafficking as well. Labor trafficking is most common in agricultural and construction fields, and domestic services like house cleaning and homecare for children or the elderly.
People who are at high risk of trafficking are those who are high risk for any exploitation. They have vulnerabilities that make them more susceptible to exploitation. Some common groups at higher risk of trafficking include unhoused youth, LGBTQ+ youth, people present in the US without legal status, and Native Americans.
(TFC note: For perspective on the impact of trafficking on Native communities, according to a report published in 2011, across four sites in the US and Canada, an average of 40% of women involved in sex trafficking identified as American Indian/Alaska Native or First Nations despite Native women representing less than 10% of the general population in the cities and counties surveyed. Surveys in the US, Canada, and New Zealand have had similar findings about the disproportionate impact of commercial sexual exploitation on colonized Indigenous communities around the world.)
In addition to coordinating this specific project, you are one of MLSA’s crime victim and domestic violence attorneys. Could you touch on the intersection of these different types of victimizations?
AH: As discussed above, those at risk of trafficking are vulnerable to any type of exploitation. A common misconception is that trafficking is perpetrated by strangers who abduct the victim. In fact, most victims know their trafficker, and it is sadly common that the trafficker is a family member or intimate partner.
In specific correlation to domestic violence (DV), a romantic partner or spouse may force the victim to commit crimes such as drug trafficking or prostitution. The perpetrator may promise love, shelter, drugs, safety—anything, really—to coerce the victim into performing the desired acts. Parents, relatives, or guardians may traffic children in exchange for being allowed to remain in the home.
Do you think the popularity of modern anti-trafficking campaigns is helping or hurting people’s level of awareness and sensitivity about this crime?
AH: More information is always better. Particularly here in Montana, there is still an attitude of “that doesn’t happen here.” Awareness is increasing reporting and accountability. According to the Montana Department of Justice, the number of trafficking cases tracked in Montana increased from 7 in 2015, to 143 in 2023 (an increase of 1,900%!).
Are people reluctant to come forward as victims of trafficking? What are some of the reasons for that?
AH: Like in DV cases, people are often hesitant to self-identify as victims of trafficking for a myriad of reasons. However, it’s more common in trafficking than with DV cases for a victim to have been coerced into committing crimes during the course of their victimization.
A person may have been forced to prostitute themselves; transport drugs, money, or firearms; or facilitate the commission of such crimes by another person. They are afraid to report because they may be exposing themselves to a criminal charge. These victims might be in the US without legal status and can be afraid to come forward to report the crime for fear of deportation. People may also have genuine safety concerns regarding retaliation against themselves or a loved one by the trafficker.
Last but not least, could you talk about your path to working with victims of violent crimes? There are lots of directions you can go when you pursue a career in law. When/how did the work you’re doing now cross your radar, and when did you decide this was an area of the law you were interested in?
AH: While I don’t know what a “conventional” legal career path looks like per se, I can say mine was strange.
In my first life, I was in business and attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. When I decided to go to law school, I intended to leverage my Wharton degree and business experience into a career in international business law. Towards that end, I attended Tulane University Law School which specializes in international and comparative law (Louisiana uses the civil law system like most of Europe, whereas the rest of the US uses common law like England). I spent one summer doing corporate litigation at a white shoe law firm in Paris (it was quite fancy, on the Champs-Elysees), and have never been more bored in my life. In school, I had a part-time job as the assistant to the director of the criminal justice clinic, and criminal law, particularly in Louisiana, is the opposite of boring.
I spent the rest of school working in the criminal justice clinic and interned at the Innocence Project and the Office of Public Defenders. When I finished school, I wanted to work in public interest (for a bit) and give back while I learned the ropes. I started with MLSA as the DV attorney in partnership with Haven in Bozeman. When that grant concluded, I joined the crime victim practice group and the overlap between the trauma-informed/DV experience I had gained coupled with my background in criminal law made it the perfect fit.
Most of my work in crime victim rights involved representing child victims of sexual assaults. People always say, “I can’t believe you do that. It must be so hard.” To which I respond: It’s really not. The bad things are going to happen. At least I can be around to help make navigating the legal system as a victim, particularly as a child, easier and more just.
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Info on Human Trafficking
For more information and resources about trafficking, visit Polaris Project. Polaris also has a helpful classification system of different industries where human trafficking is most common in the United States based on 32,000 cases documented from 2007-2016.
A Note on Federal Grant Programs
Pending the success of the Montana Human Trafficking Rights Project and continuity of federal grant programs through the Office of Victims of Crime, MLSA could apply for a more robust five-year program to continue providing specialized civil legal aid to victims of human trafficking. Many federal grant programs are currently in jeopardy. Visit our most recent update on federal funding to learn how current threats to federal programs would impact our services, and find out how to get in touch with your federal elected officials to urge them to protect vital resources that help organizations like The Friendship Center and Montana Legal Services Association provide services that Montanans rely on.
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