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Unbroken Chains: The Hidden Role of Human Trafficking in the American Economy
An urgent exposition of the pervasive human trafficking that lies just beneath the surface of the US economy—from the stories of its survivors
The years of the COVID-19 pandemic have brought to light the exploitation of workers. In this moment of heightened visibility, Unbroken Chains demands that readers examine the hidden sector of American trafficked labor and understand its prevalence across our economy.
Drawing from nearly two decades of research on US and international human trafficking, Melissa Hope Ditmore sets forth the harrowing stories of human trafficking survivors and grounds their accounts in the long history of US indentured servitude, looking to its iterations in chattel slavery, Chinese contract labor, and prison labor. In this groundbreaking investigation of American trafficking, Ditmore unveils the unnerving reality that forced labor permeates many industries beyond sex in almost every aspect of consumption, people who create our everyday necessities are working amid inescapable exploitation, often without pay.
Unbroken Chains tells these workers’ They are nannies for New York City’s diplomatic elites and door-to-door magazine salespeople in the American South. A trafficked person may have harvested your produce, sewn your clothes, or cleaned your apartment lobby. Ditmore offers readers an illuminating window on the world of forced labor, which exists within our own, and a road map for participating in its destruction.
Unbroken Chains will include more than a dozen images, including detailed maps, archival pictures, and trafficking documents. Among these images are a modern map of the Sonoran Desert in the American Southwest, a bill of sale for an enslaved woman forced into sex work, letters from men in compulsory plantation labor after the Civil War, and 19th-century “white slave” panic propaganda.
The years of the COVID-19 pandemic have brought to light the exploitation of workers. In this moment of heightened visibility, Unbroken Chains demands that readers examine the hidden sector of American trafficked labor and understand its prevalence across our economy.
Drawing from nearly two decades of research on US and international human trafficking, Melissa Hope Ditmore sets forth the harrowing stories of human trafficking survivors and grounds their accounts in the long history of US indentured servitude, looking to its iterations in chattel slavery, Chinese contract labor, and prison labor. In this groundbreaking investigation of American trafficking, Ditmore unveils the unnerving reality that forced labor permeates many industries beyond sex in almost every aspect of consumption, people who create our everyday necessities are working amid inescapable exploitation, often without pay.
Unbroken Chains tells these workers’ They are nannies for New York City’s diplomatic elites and door-to-door magazine salespeople in the American South. A trafficked person may have harvested your produce, sewn your clothes, or cleaned your apartment lobby. Ditmore offers readers an illuminating window on the world of forced labor, which exists within our own, and a road map for participating in its destruction.
Unbroken Chains will include more than a dozen images, including detailed maps, archival pictures, and trafficking documents. Among these images are a modern map of the Sonoran Desert in the American Southwest, a bill of sale for an enslaved woman forced into sex work, letters from men in compulsory plantation labor after the Civil War, and 19th-century “white slave” panic propaganda.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published May 9, 2023
8 people are currently reading
2276 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Hope Ditmore
9 books13 followersI’m a freelance consultant specializing in issues of gender, development, health and human rights, particularly as they relate to marginalized populations such as sex workers, migrants and people who use drugs. My past and current clients include the Asia Development Bank, AIDS Fonds Netherlands, and the Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center. I have extensive experience of working on projects both in the United States and in Asia and Africa.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 23, 2023
DNF. Made it about 20% through the audiobook. It was distracting how hard the author was trying to minimize the problem of sex trafficking in comparison to labor trafficking of immigrants. Obviously both are a problem. Ms. Ditmore is just too condescending and combative in her writing style for my taste.
March 2, 2023
What comes to mind when you hear the words "Human Trafficking"? Chances are it's not very different from images popularized in Victorian times drumming up "awareness" of "white slavery" at a time when it was convenient for politicians to distract the masses from labor rights movements that were gaining steam.
Human trafficking is far more than forced prostitution. People have been kidnapped and forced to work in our country selling magazine subscriptions, picking crops, sewing shirts, and caring for children and the elderly, among other things! Simultaneously, forced prison labor extracts profits in many sectors, abusing a loophole in the 13th amendment that has allowed slavery to persist in our country to this day.
This is an important book, and not long. Ditmore explores the many ways our focus on defining trafficking through a lens of sex work and using criminal justice systems to fight it ends up not fighting it at all, arresting the victims and letting the perpetrators run free while also over-policing sex work and sexuality, especially women's sexuality. What's more, the idea of who a victim is means ignoring male and transgender victims, as well as victims of color.
She ends with ways you can help if you suspect someone is being trafficked. You could contact a relevant local labor union, or a community organization, to provide the "kind of help that is truly helpful." She provides a list of the organizations vetted by the book's research, and ways to ensure your consumer choices are as slavery-free as you can get them, via groups like worthrises.org that tracks corporations profiting off prison labor.
Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book.
Human trafficking is far more than forced prostitution. People have been kidnapped and forced to work in our country selling magazine subscriptions, picking crops, sewing shirts, and caring for children and the elderly, among other things! Simultaneously, forced prison labor extracts profits in many sectors, abusing a loophole in the 13th amendment that has allowed slavery to persist in our country to this day.
This is an important book, and not long. Ditmore explores the many ways our focus on defining trafficking through a lens of sex work and using criminal justice systems to fight it ends up not fighting it at all, arresting the victims and letting the perpetrators run free while also over-policing sex work and sexuality, especially women's sexuality. What's more, the idea of who a victim is means ignoring male and transgender victims, as well as victims of color.
She ends with ways you can help if you suspect someone is being trafficked. You could contact a relevant local labor union, or a community organization, to provide the "kind of help that is truly helpful." She provides a list of the organizations vetted by the book's research, and ways to ensure your consumer choices are as slavery-free as you can get them, via groups like worthrises.org that tracks corporations profiting off prison labor.
Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book.
January 27, 2023
It's not uncommon to read an unsettling newspaper editorial or watch a news story on TV about human trafficking. These are almost always focused on sex work. There are certainly abuses in the world of prostitution and other sex industries, but these expose seem more lurid than learned. The truth is that human trafficking is much bigger, but stories of exploitation in sales, agriculture, domestic work and other industries don't hold the same allure for big media, which seems more interested in eyeballs than equality.
There have always been voices that have spoken up against human trafficking, but they tend to come from marginalized people who rarely get to be heard. That's why the coming publication (May 9, 2023) of Unbroken Chains: The Hidden Role of Human Trafficking in the American Economy is so important. Full disclosure, author Melissa Hope Ditmore is an old friend and the publisher, Beacon Press, sent me the uncorrected galleys to review. As long as I've known Melissa, she's been an untired advocate for gender, development, health and human rights issues.
The book is more academic in style than general nonfiction, including little abstracts that open each chapter that could have been deleted for readability. But the book rests on well-documented research and stories from people who have lived experience. That combination provides a background and an emotional center to hold the whole book together. It's a moving document that is also a call to action. While the source of these crimes is never attributed to rampant capitalism (that would take another book), there is a section at the end that provides guidance for each reader to do their part in ending this atrocity.
There have always been voices that have spoken up against human trafficking, but they tend to come from marginalized people who rarely get to be heard. That's why the coming publication (May 9, 2023) of Unbroken Chains: The Hidden Role of Human Trafficking in the American Economy is so important. Full disclosure, author Melissa Hope Ditmore is an old friend and the publisher, Beacon Press, sent me the uncorrected galleys to review. As long as I've known Melissa, she's been an untired advocate for gender, development, health and human rights issues.
The book is more academic in style than general nonfiction, including little abstracts that open each chapter that could have been deleted for readability. But the book rests on well-documented research and stories from people who have lived experience. That combination provides a background and an emotional center to hold the whole book together. It's a moving document that is also a call to action. While the source of these crimes is never attributed to rampant capitalism (that would take another book), there is a section at the end that provides guidance for each reader to do their part in ending this atrocity.
December 18, 2024
My bad for not doing my homework on the author but the description was well-written, and I always seek to absorb as much variety on important topics as possible. But the fact is: This author is disconnected with the larger implications of abuse and trauma surrounding the issue of human trafficking.
Worse, she uses this issue as a springboard to rant on her political and religious biases, even going so far as to besmirch and caution against supporting individuals and organizations doing real-world trafficking intervention.
Melissa Hope Ditmore is an apologist for “sex workers” and argues against trafficking and anti-trafficking legislation because she believes they harm the practices of legal prostitution and the pornography industry. As if all of the kindly, legal pimps out there are being smeared by a few bad apples.
Furthermore, she casually dismisses the reality of satanic ritualistic abuse. I sincerely hope Ditmore will educate herself about the thousands of people who have testified to this multi-generational practice, or speak with trauma counselors or pastors who routinely deal with the ramifications of satanic sexual abuse perpetrated against those seeking freedom. I know a trauma counselor who, after twenty years in the field, is seeing more clients dealing with this than ever before. Before getting to the victims’ stories, Ditmore rants about veterans saving children, or “QAnon,” to differentiate her work. This is truly abhorrent given the subject matter, as if the child being raped cares about the political leanings of their rescuer.
Side note: There is no such thing as QAnon, and using the term is either a deliberate smear or sign of ignorance. There are anons (those who post anonymously online) and there is a person or group known as Q, but there is no QAnon, which is a misnomer that mainstream media aggregators use to dismiss facts they don’t find palatable or worthy of investigation...like satanic ritualistic abuse.
The victims of human trafficking deserve better advocacy from those concerned about elevating and restoring human beings, not authors who carry water for the most base, soul-crushing “occupations” in human history: the sex-for-profit industries.
Worse, she uses this issue as a springboard to rant on her political and religious biases, even going so far as to besmirch and caution against supporting individuals and organizations doing real-world trafficking intervention.
Melissa Hope Ditmore is an apologist for “sex workers” and argues against trafficking and anti-trafficking legislation because she believes they harm the practices of legal prostitution and the pornography industry. As if all of the kindly, legal pimps out there are being smeared by a few bad apples.
Furthermore, she casually dismisses the reality of satanic ritualistic abuse. I sincerely hope Ditmore will educate herself about the thousands of people who have testified to this multi-generational practice, or speak with trauma counselors or pastors who routinely deal with the ramifications of satanic sexual abuse perpetrated against those seeking freedom. I know a trauma counselor who, after twenty years in the field, is seeing more clients dealing with this than ever before. Before getting to the victims’ stories, Ditmore rants about veterans saving children, or “QAnon,” to differentiate her work. This is truly abhorrent given the subject matter, as if the child being raped cares about the political leanings of their rescuer.
Side note: There is no such thing as QAnon, and using the term is either a deliberate smear or sign of ignorance. There are anons (those who post anonymously online) and there is a person or group known as Q, but there is no QAnon, which is a misnomer that mainstream media aggregators use to dismiss facts they don’t find palatable or worthy of investigation...like satanic ritualistic abuse.
The victims of human trafficking deserve better advocacy from those concerned about elevating and restoring human beings, not authors who carry water for the most base, soul-crushing “occupations” in human history: the sex-for-profit industries.
December 31, 2023
Modern Slavery and the American Dream
Unbroken Chains: The Hidden Role of Human Trafficking in the American Economy by Melissa Ditmore covers the concerning political issue of how various businesses (legal and illegal) prey on the most vulnerable in the United States.
The book primarily focuses on the “modern” period of the late 20th century to the 21st century. While it does give heavy focus to what you would consider a well known problem like sex trafficking, it dives deeper to also include sales schemes targeting young people, targeting migrant farm labor, and domestic workers. Naturally prison labor and its exploitation also get a chapter.
Along with covering a wide range of recent cases, the author also chooses to heavily focus on the historical events that led to the modern day problems (including the unusual way some laws are implemented and enforced)…some dating back to the 18th century. I would have liked it more if the author only focused on the historical events as they related directly to the modern incidents as I felt some of the background was not entirely relevent to the current problem.
Unbroken Chains: The Hidden Role of Human Trafficking in the American Economy by Melissa Ditmore covers the concerning political issue of how various businesses (legal and illegal) prey on the most vulnerable in the United States.
The book primarily focuses on the “modern” period of the late 20th century to the 21st century. While it does give heavy focus to what you would consider a well known problem like sex trafficking, it dives deeper to also include sales schemes targeting young people, targeting migrant farm labor, and domestic workers. Naturally prison labor and its exploitation also get a chapter.
Along with covering a wide range of recent cases, the author also chooses to heavily focus on the historical events that led to the modern day problems (including the unusual way some laws are implemented and enforced)…some dating back to the 18th century. I would have liked it more if the author only focused on the historical events as they related directly to the modern incidents as I felt some of the background was not entirely relevent to the current problem.
December 24, 2023
Relatively short this book although clearly adapted from academic work is readable to those outside of the field. The author carefully breaks down the fallacy used throughout history to conflate trafficking with the sensational forced prostitute while ignoring forced labor and using the lurid tales to pass and enforce laws that fail to protect victims and instead contribute to their re-traumatization. Like a said its relative short and has photos so don’t be put off from reading this.
February 23, 2024
Learned so much about human trafficking and ways that it is inherent in everything around us. We think of "trafficking" as sex workers, but the reality is that is it present in every sector of the economy, from advertising to agriculture to infrastructure, etc. The author does a great job and going through each economic sector and what the current state of trafficking looks like, as compared to centuries ago. Unfortunately and alarming that there has been minimal change throughout history.
January 1, 2024
I wish the author didn't go back and forth between past and present in each chapter. I found the modern day information new, interesting, and captivating. The historical context is important but I also feel folks who read a book like this have probably already sought out in depth studies on slavery, colonialism, and the impacts that go much deeper than the every other chapter in this book does.
January 12, 2025
Just finished Melissa Ditmore’s *Unbroken Chains: The Hidden Role of Human Trafficking in the American Economy*. Most Americans just talk about human trafficking in terms of sex. Ditmore says that labor trafficking is much more prevalent.
Money quote: “Capitalism in America is inextricably linked to the exploitation of forced or unpaid labor in every economic sector.”
Money quote: “Capitalism in America is inextricably linked to the exploitation of forced or unpaid labor in every economic sector.”
May 29, 2024
I thought this was interesting and tried to bring a well rounded approach to human trafficking it was just that it was trying to cover so many bases I felt like I got a super broad overview instead of clear and specific information that would be useful
June 5, 2023
Minuteman.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2023
Outstanding. This quick and well organized read is very informative. It is not what you think and highlights all trafficking.
July 31, 2023
I learned so much from this book, its definety worth the read
February 12, 2024
Audiobook - concise but covers a lot of ground.
November 10, 2024
Easy to understand. I wasn’t aware that those irritating magazine sellers are in such danger. Sad.
June 7, 2025
For a historical book I really enjoyed this read. Read it for college and couldn't put it down.
September 5, 2024
“Trafficking is an extreme form of labor exploitation that involves fraud, force, or coercion….A climate of fear must be present for a situation to be considered trafficking.”
This book can be a good resource. It goes through a timeline of slavery milestones in the US. It makes distinctions between sex workers and trafficking. Unfortunately, she also calls out numerous faith-based organizations and condemns them, even though they have done many great things in the field. In this author’s opinion, unless you are pro-pornography, pro-trans, pro-sex work and pro-prostitution, you have no place in the anti-trafficking realm. Going out of her way to point out specific faith-based organizations, hurts the message she was trying to bring with this book. I would expect many a reader wouldn’t continue past the introduction because of this very blatant and biased attack.
However, I chose to continue the book. I expected that I would find good and helpful information within. And, I did. I have largely considered trafficking to be mainly sex trafficking with some International labor importation. I was surprised to be reading about traveling magazine crews (with experiences documented from 2014!), the prison system, and more. I was shocked that foreign diplomats are allowed to emigrate with a servant! However, there is precious little included on the sex trafficking that we all think of when we hear of trafficking. In addition, the large majority of this book is focused on the past, not what issues we are facing in the present.
And, as a note, there are some things used as examples of inequality that I take issue with. You can’t say that it’s a problem when a woman makes less as a maid than a man does as a construction worker. They are completely different fields requiring completely different physical exertion and ability. In addition, she goes on to say that $12/hr for a wage is considered “living in poverty.” Not three years ago I was working for that wage. And it is many dollars above the minimum wage in my area.
In conclusion, this book has good information out there about the various trafficking laws over time and how they have been used (and abused). This book opened my eyes more to the working conditions and manipulations that can be present which would form a trafficking situation, outside of the traditional idea of being kidnapped.
This book can be a good resource. It goes through a timeline of slavery milestones in the US. It makes distinctions between sex workers and trafficking. Unfortunately, she also calls out numerous faith-based organizations and condemns them, even though they have done many great things in the field. In this author’s opinion, unless you are pro-pornography, pro-trans, pro-sex work and pro-prostitution, you have no place in the anti-trafficking realm. Going out of her way to point out specific faith-based organizations, hurts the message she was trying to bring with this book. I would expect many a reader wouldn’t continue past the introduction because of this very blatant and biased attack.
However, I chose to continue the book. I expected that I would find good and helpful information within. And, I did. I have largely considered trafficking to be mainly sex trafficking with some International labor importation. I was surprised to be reading about traveling magazine crews (with experiences documented from 2014!), the prison system, and more. I was shocked that foreign diplomats are allowed to emigrate with a servant! However, there is precious little included on the sex trafficking that we all think of when we hear of trafficking. In addition, the large majority of this book is focused on the past, not what issues we are facing in the present.
And, as a note, there are some things used as examples of inequality that I take issue with. You can’t say that it’s a problem when a woman makes less as a maid than a man does as a construction worker. They are completely different fields requiring completely different physical exertion and ability. In addition, she goes on to say that $12/hr for a wage is considered “living in poverty.” Not three years ago I was working for that wage. And it is many dollars above the minimum wage in my area.
In conclusion, this book has good information out there about the various trafficking laws over time and how they have been used (and abused). This book opened my eyes more to the working conditions and manipulations that can be present which would form a trafficking situation, outside of the traditional idea of being kidnapped.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews