Pennsylvania launches new website to combat human trafficking
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency on Thursday launched a new website aimed at preventing human trafficking and better supporting victims by bringing together resources for first responders, social service providers and members of the public.
The announcement came during Human Trafficking Prevention Month at a roundtable discussion in Philadelphia that included state and local officials, advocates, social service providers and survivors.
The new website, developed with Villanova University’s Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation, provides trauma-informed training materials, guidance on recognizing warning signs of trafficking and information on how to report suspected cases.
“The fight against trafficking begins with coordination and working together to raise awareness of the warning signs, making sure people know where and how to report, strengthening support for survivors, and holding perpetrators accountable,” Kathy Buckley, director of PCCD’s Office of Victims’ Services, said in a press release.
Human trafficking is the crime of using force, fraud or coercion to induce another person to perform labor or sex acts.
According to the Philadelphia Anti-Trafficking Coalition, the number of identified trafficking survivors in the region increased by 23% in 2025 compared to the previous year. The organization cites housing, food assistance, medical care and counseling among the most common needs for survivors
“That’s the goal of our new website and the purpose of this conversation today, shining a light on organizations leading this work and ensuring that all across Pennsylvania, every individual knows there are people and resources dedicated to combating all forms of exploitation,” Buckley said.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 26 states have enacted legislation creating human-trafficking task forces, study groups or similar coordination efforts. Eight of those states — Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri and Rhode Island apply to sex trafficking only, while the others target both labor and sex trafficking.
In 2019, researchers in the Biotechnology and Human Systems studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology released a Human Trafficking Technology Roadmap aimed at helping federal, state and local agencies to better identify, investigate and prosecute trafficking cases. The report’s recommendations include building tools that automatically analyze large amounts of data, establishing centralized collections of evidence templates and trafficking “signatures,” and developing shared computing systems for law enforcement and courts.
Pennsylvania’s new website builds on efforts by the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro, who announced his reelection bid Thursday, to combat human trafficking. Those include spending $14 million over the past two budget cycles on the Victims Compensation Assistance Program and moving the state’s Anti-Human Trafficking Workgroup under PCCD’s leadership. That group now focuses on training, law enforcement coordination, victim services and public awareness.
