Did you know?
Human Trafficking occurs in all 95 counties of Tennessee.
Ink of Hope was inspired by the YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee’s successful Shear Haven program (passed in 2021), which trains cosmetologists and barbers to recognize and report domestic violence in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance. The training program aims to have a similar impact in the fight against human trafficking.
Additionally, the Tennessee Secretary of State‘s office launched the Tennessee Businesses Against Trafficking (TBAT) program in 2024, which aims to educate businesses across the state on what human trafficking looks like and how to identify the signs of trafficking in their customers, coworkers, and communities. Ink of Hope serves as a meaningful extension of TBAT’s efforts by including the tattoo industry, a field that is positioned to play a critical role in our state’s ongoing fight against human trafficking, protecting the most vulnerable Tennesseans.
Brought forward by Thistle Farms in 2025, the Ink of Hope Act saw unanimous, bipartisan support in the Tennessee General Assembly, and went into effect January 1, 2026.
Human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing criminal industries in the United States. Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) among trafficked individuals specifically is estimated to generate approximately $173B per year worldwide, according to a report by International Labor Organization in 2024.
Human Trafficking is defined by the US Department of Justice as a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sexual acts – which can be done through subtle or overt coercion, as well as physical and/or psychological.
Commercial sexual acts or exploitation is a type of human trafficking that refers to any sexual activity that is traded or exchanged for something of value, or even the promise of something of value.
In Tennessee between 2019-2023, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 1,310 reported cases and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) received 6,776 reported cases of human trafficking.