Iowa Code § 710A.1 (2026)

As used in this chapter:

1. “Commercial sexual activity” means any sex act or sexually explicit performance for which anything of value is given, promised to, or received by any person and includes, but is not limited to, prostitution, participation in the production of pornography, and performance in strip clubs.

2. “Debt bondage” means the status or condition of a debtor arising from a pledge of the debtor’s personal services or a person under the control of a debtor’s personal services as a security for debt if the reasonable value of such services is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined.

3. “Forced labor or services” means labor or services that are performed or provided by another person and that are obtained or maintained through any of the following:

a. Causing or threatening to cause serious physical injury to any person.

b. Physically restraining or threatening to physically restrain another person.

c. Abusing or threatening to abuse the law or legal process.

d. Knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any actual or purported government identification of another person.

e. Knowingly providing or facilitating the provision of a forged, altered, or fraudulent license purportedly issued pursuant to chapter 152C or 157, or a forged, altered, or fraudulent government identification, to another person in order to force, coerce, entice, assist, facilitate, or permit the other person to perform labor or services.

f. Knowingly forcing, coercing, enticing, assisting, facilitating, or permitting another person in possession of a forged, altered, or fraudulent license purportedly issued pursuant to chapter 152C or 157, or a forged, altered, or fraudulent government identification, to produce such license or government identification to a peace officer upon request of the peace officer pursuant to section 152C.5B or 157.4A.

g. Knowingly forcing, coercing, intimidating, or compelling another person to perform an act in violation of state or federal law through the use of debt bondage or servitude or as a condition of being allowed to remain in the United States.

4. a. “Human trafficking” means participating in a venture to recruit, harbor, transport, supply provisions, or obtain a person for any of the following purposes:

(1) Forced labor or service that results in involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

(2) Commercial sexual activity through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, except that if the trafficked person is under the age of eighteen, the commercial sexual activity need not involve force, fraud, or coercion.

b. “Human trafficking” also means knowingly purchasing or attempting to purchase services involving commercial sexual activity from a victim or another person engaged in human trafficking, or from a law enforcement officer or agent posing as a person engaged in human trafficking.

5. “Involuntary servitude” means a condition of servitude induced by means of any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that if the person did not enter into or continue in such condition, that person or another person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint or the threatened abuse of legal process. \n Tue Dec 09 21:56:27 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 710A (27, 1) §710A.1, HUMAN TRAFFICKING 2\n\n 6. “Labor” means work of economic or financial value.

7. “Maintain” means, in relation to labor and services, to secure continued performance thereof, regardless of any initial agreement on the part of the victim to perform such type of services.

8. “Obtain” means, in relation to labor or services, to secure performance thereof.

9. “Peonage” means a status or condition of involuntary servitude based upon real or alleged indebtedness.

10. “Services” means performing activities under the supervision of or for the benefit of an actor, including commercial sexual activity and sexually explicit performances.

11. “Sexually explicit performance” means a live or public act or show intended to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires or appeal to the prurient interest of patrons.

12. “Venture” means any group of two or more persons associated in fact, whether or not a legal entity.

13. “Victim” means any of the following:

a. A person subjected to human trafficking.

b. A person who is identified as being subjected to or targeted for human trafficking.

c. A law enforcement officer or agent posing as a person subjected to or a target for human trafficking. 2006 Acts, ch 1074, §2; 2009 Acts, ch 19, §1; 2012 Acts, ch 1057, §2; 2021 Acts, ch 123, §5; 2025 Acts, ch 97, §1, 2 Referred to in §80.45, 80.45A, 217.30, 232.68, 321.208, 668.15A, 915.51, 915.87 Subsection 4, paragraph b amended Subsections 10 and 13 amended \n