Human trafficking is a significant, but difficult to spot, problem in Houston – and throughout Texas. Houston is known as a hub for human trafficking, which involves young women brought here for prostitution because of our proximity to the Mexican border. A quarter of all trafficking victims rescued in the United States are in Texas, primarily in Houston (McCall). In 2011 alone, a number of human trafficking arrests were made in the Houston area and several brothels were closed. However, the FBI reports that at least two new brothels open each month in Houston (Palmer). There are many ways to combat human trafficking, including becoming informed, spreading the word, looking into your own community, talking to children and teens, and getting involved in groups to combat human trafficking. The definition of human trafficking is: the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, kidnapping, fraud, deception, abuse of power from a position of vulnerability or transfer or receipt of payments or benefits to obtain the consent of a person having authority over another person, to exploitation purposes (Rome). Some of the main forms of human trafficking are forced labor, sex trafficking, debt bondage, involuntary domestic servitude, forced child labor, child soldiers, and child sex trafficking (Department of American state). Another way to explain human trafficking is to say that it amounts to modern slavery. The problem is not limited to the Houston area, although Houston is considered a traffic hub city and a major destination. The victim...... middle of paper......". ABC News. August 30, 2011. Internet. December 7, 2011. .Palmer, Mark. "Sex trafficking is modern-day slavery. " facts and statistics. Bringing Hope, 2004. Web. December 7, 2011. “Demand Reduction Campaign.” Web Journal Publication. Free Houston's Human Trafficking Captives. October 31, 2011. The web. December 11, 2011..Rome, Aron. "Human trafficking." nd Web. December 8, 2011. US Department of State, “Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, 2011. Web. 2011. .