Category — Human Trafficking in the U.S.

Our Policy team has just returned from the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) with a lot of positive news to report! The NCSL organizes an annual national summit, where legislators from all around the country come together for a four-day meeting, sharing ideas and progress. This year, Polaris Project attended so that we could reach as many legislators as possible and spread the word about the need for comprehensive and effective human trafficking laws. [Read more →]

Through the creation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the U.S. positioned itself as a leader in the global fight against human trafficking. This significant piece of legislation made human trafficking a federal crime, formed agencies and task forces to address human trafficking domestically and internationally, defined the strict penalties human traffickers face, created the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and initiated various measures to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute traffickers. Since its original passage, the bill has been reauthorized three times, each time reaffirming our nation’s commitment to eliminating modern-day slavery and strengthening our ability to fight it.

The 2011 TVPRA has been introduced in the Senate by a bi-partisan coalition made up of Senators Leahy (VT), Boxer (CA), Brown (MA), Cardin (MD), Cochran (MS), Feinstein (CA), Gillibrand (NY), Kerry (MA), Rubio (FL), and Wyden (OR). However, we need to build momentum to ensure the bill gets passed. [Read more →]

In comparison to the Montana Meth Project ad campaign discussed here yesterday, anti-trafficking groups have tried similar ad campaigns before to raise public awareness, but never anything so graphic or compelling as the Montana Meth Project’s campaign, perhaps until now (see more below under Recent Developments). Past efforts have been sporadic and limited in reach. For example, the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking initiated a print ad campaign focusing on child sex trafficking with images of strip clubs and very young girls in neon lights. Check it out here. Another coalition worked in Seattle to initiate a bus ad campaign, focusing on ending demand for commercial sex and thus thwarting sex trafficking. [Read more →]

The Montana Meth Project is a philanthropic organization working to prevent meth use in Montana by focusing on risks and consequences of methamphetamine. During its six years of operations, it has seen an inspiring decrease in meth use statewide. Public awareness has been catalyzed by the Meth Project’s intense advertising campaign, including short TV spots, radio announcements, internet presence, and print ads.

The print ads took the cause to the streets with a graphic advertising campaign appearing on billboards and in printed high school newspapers across the state of Montana. Many of these ads illustrate the drastic, dangerous, heart-wrenching effects of meth on its users and their families. Some ads particularly highlight the severe connection between drug use and various types of exploitation. The pictures allude to certain scenarios with images and key words, and many of these depict situations related to human trafficking. [Read more →]

In 2000, the UN passed the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, also known as the Palermo Protocol. Among other things, the Protocol recognizes that criminalizing alone will not lead to the elimination of human trafficking and that prevention efforts are necessary. State action does not end at the prosecution and incarceration of a trafficker; governments must provide victims with the support and services they need to re-integrate them into society.

The 2011 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report brings about an important question:
How can governments effectively address victim protection in cases of human trafficking? [Read more →]

The Village Voice recently published an article on what it described as the exaggerated numbers used by the anti-trafficking movement to garner attention and federal funds. The article focused on Ashton Kutcher and his “Real Men Don’t Buy Girls” campaign as one example.

Within hours, a tennis-like sparring match had erupted between Kutcher and The Village Voice on Twitter. @AplusK faced off against the Village Voice on research methods, reputation, and defining modern day slavery.  Soon after, other voices emerged.  Amanda Kloer wrote this piece on Change.org and Maggie Neilson penned an article for The Huffington Post.

If you’re interested in reading additional sides of the debate you can view them here, here, here, or here.

Photo Credit: David Shankbone

With this week’s Trafficking In Persons (TIP) report release, the anti-trafficking movement has been buzzing with activity, collaboration, and progress. We’ve had the privilege of meeting some of the people leading the movement internationally: the 2011 TIP Heroes. These are ten individuals from all over the world who work tirelessly to combat human trafficking. Yesterday, the Department of State coordinated with the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) to provide anti-trafficking NGOs with a chance to listen to and exchange stories with the Heroes. Today, the TIP Heroes visited the Polaris Project headquarters to share knowledge and learn about our organization. [Read more →]

The U.S. State Department’s Annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report was released on Monday, June 27, 2011. If you didn’t have time to read the full report, check out this quick summary of findings on the 2010 Interactive World Map of Tier Placements. We’re anxiously awaiting the 2011 interactive world map.

The U.S. was not included in the report until 2010 and was labeled Tier 1—the highest ranking—which it has maintained in 2011. The report does not purport that countries within the Tier 1 category experience no human trafficking. Rather, the Tier 1 distinction indicates that a country has met and continued to progress in meeting the minimum standards toward eradicating human trafficking, but has more work to do. Still, what does this mean for the states? Which states are working to end modern-day slavery in the U.S.? [Read more →]

The U.S. State Department’s Annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report was released on Monday, June 27, 2011. It is compiled each year to analyze 184 governments’ efforts to combat human trafficking within their own borders. Governments are ranked into one of three tiers based on their attempts to meet the “minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking” in Section 108 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).  It is useful as a tool for diplomatic pressure and incentives, a map of trafficking streams and trends, and an update on status quo practices and implementation of anti-trafficking efforts globally. [Read more →]

“Human trafficking awareness is at a tipping point in our society.”

Words spoken by the Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna, the incoming president of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), as he revealed human trafficking as his 2012 Presidential Initiative today at the NAAG annual meeting in Chicago. [Read more →]