A prisoner is someone being held in confinement.
Commonly, a prisoner is a criminal who is serving a prison sentence after being convicted of a crime, or a person who has been arrested by law enforcement and is being held...
human rights
sex trafficking
Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking which transports or exploits persons to use them for sexual acts. Title 22, Section 7102 of the U.S. Code defines sex trafficking as “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision,...
sexual slavery
Sexual slavery refers to the systematic enslavement of individuals for sexual purposes, forcing them to perform sexual acts against their will. It involves controlling a person through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of sexual...
slavery
Slavery is the practice of forced labor and restricted liberty. It is also a regime where one class of people - the slave owners - could force another - the slaves - to work and limit their liberty. Throughout history, some forms of slavery...
South African Truth Commission
The dismantling of South African apartheid culminated in a multi-racial democratic election in 1994. The African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela became President, and an interim constitution was drafted and enacted. After the...
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest Federal food assistance program, codified at 7 U.S. 51 and replacing the food stamp program. SNAP gives aid to low-income individuals and families with the majority of...
taking of hostages
Hostage taking is when someone “seizes or detains and threatens to kill, to injure, or to continue to detain another person in order to compel a third person or a governmental organization to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or...
Title VII
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal employment law that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), and national origin. Title VII gives employees a private right to action...
torture
Torture refers to the infliction of severe pain and suffering, as punishment, as coercion, or for the purposes of obtaining information or a confession. Torture is prohibited by the United Nations Convention Against Torture , which has been...
trafficking
Trafficking is the transporting of or transacting in illegal goods or people. See drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and human trafficking.
[Last updated in December of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]