Anti-Trafficking

Books, Movies, and Podcasts to Help You Understand Human Trafficking

By The Love Justice Team August 26, 2025

Stories have a powerful way of connecting us to someone else’s experience—a connection that can have a long-lasting impact. For many of us at Love Justice, there was a particular book or film that moved and spurred us into action fighting human trafficking.

If you’re ready to learn more about slavery in our modern world and let your heart break for injustice, this list is for you. The following are a few of the resources recommended by our staff, alongside others highly praised among the anti-trafficking community.

Books:

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (2009), Pulitzer Prize winners and a husband and wife team - Not only about trafficking, this book speaks about the exploitation women experience across the globe and how empowering them has significant impact. It comes highly recommended by many LJI staff.
Sex Slaves: The Trafficking of Women in Asia by Louise Brown (2000) - Written at a time when the world was just waking up to the injustice of human trafficking, this book gives voice to the women sex trafficked in South Asia. Though one of the oldest books on this list, it’s the book that first opened our founder’s eyes to the reality of modern slavery.
Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution by Rachel Moran (2013) - A raw, deeply personal memoir by Moran, who spent seven years in prostitution in Ireland starting at age 15. With unflinching honesty, she exposes the psychological toll of the sex trade and challenges cultural narratives around “choice” and consent.
The Great Escape: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America by Saket Soni (2023) - This book tells the true story of 500 Indian workers trafficked into forced labor in the U.S. after Hurricane Katrina. The author was their labor organizer, who helped them fight for their freedom.
The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence by Gary Haugen (2013) - Written by the founder of International Justice Mission (IJM), this book shows how violence (such as trafficking) intersects with poverty, giving a foundational and policy-driven view of why strengthening justice systems is essential to creating lasting change.

just-courage-haugen Faith-Based Reads that Inspired Our Team to Get Involved:

Just Courage: God’s Great Expedition for the Restless Christian by Gary Haugen (2008)
The Good News about Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World by Gary Haugen (1999)
Justice Awakening: How You and Your Church Can Help End Human Trafficking by Eddie Byun (2014)

Movies:

Viewer discretion advised as many of these films depict disturbing aspects of human trafficking that may not be palatable for everyone.

Nefarious: Merchant of Souls (2011) - A powerful Christian-based documentary on the sex trade, and one of the films that helped inspire multiple LJI staff members into this work fighting trafficking.
City of Dreams (2023) - Tells the story of a young boy who dreams of becoming a soccer star but instead falls prey to child labor trafficking in the U.S. While quite violent, it offers a fair depiction of the horror happening to these young ones away from public view.
Palm Trees and Power Lines (2022) - A disturbing but accurate portrayal of the psychological manipulation happening in many trafficking scenarios as an older man grooms a lonely young teenage girl.
The Price of Free (2018) - A documentary about Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi in his journey to rescue children from labor trafficking.
The True Cost (2015) - A documentary about exploitation around the world stemming from the fast fashion industry.

Podcasts:

The LOVE JUSTICE podcast - Listen in for conversations and stories about ending human trafficking featuring a wide range of inspiring guests.
Until All Are Free by Exodus Road - Empowers listeners with an understanding of the systemic issues of human trafficking through the eyes of experts, ordinary operatives, and survivors.
Sold in America by journalist Noor Tagouri - An eight episode journey into the world of the sex trade in the U.S.
The Child Labor Crisis in America by NPR Fresh Air - Single episode featuring guest Hannah Dreier, a journalist for the New York Times who has covered child labor in the U.S. extensively.
The Ending Human Trafficking Podcast by The Global Center for Women and Justice - Launched in 2011, this podcast now features over 300 episodes with various guests.

Other Resources:

Global Slavery Index by Walk Free and the ILO (most recent 2023)
U.S. TIP Reports by the U.S. Department of State (updated yearly)
UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (most recent 2024)
Polaris Rumors Page - Polaris does a great job of breaking down the most common rumors you may have heard about human trafficking, from white passenger vans to zip ties to drug-laced roses and everything in between.

Growing in awareness

Whether you're brand new to this issue or looking to go deeper, we hope these resources help you grow in awareness and conviction. When more people understand the problem, more people become part of the solution.

Have you read, watched, or listened to something great that’s not on this list? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!

If you’re looking at this list thinking you’d like to check these out but don’t know where to start, click the button below and listen to our most recent episode of the LOVE JUSTICE podcast.