International Law
In November 2000, in Palermo, Italy, members of the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Alongside the Convention came three Protocols targeting specific areas of organized crime. One of them was the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, also known as the Palermo Protocol. The Palermo Protocol is “the first global legally binding instrument with an agreed definition on trafficking in persons,” and creates an internationally recognized set of standards related to human trafficking.
The Palermo Protocol established two core principles to combat human trafficking: First, to follow the “3P” paradigm of protecting survivors of trafficking, prosecuting traffickers, and preventing trafficking, and second, to emphasize the protection of victims by following a victim-centered approach. By agreeing to the Convention, the U.S. and many countries around the world incorporated these aspects into their laws combating human trafficking.
Domestic Law: The TVPA
In 1999, New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith introduced bipartisan legislation to combat human trafficking. This legislation served as the framework for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which was proposed by Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone in 2000 on the same timeline as the Palermo Protocol.
The 2000 TVPA became the cornerstone of U.S. federal law on human trafficking. Prior to the TVPA’s passage, human trafficking cases were filed under “federal statutes related to involuntary servitude and, but the criminal laws were narrow and patchwork.” Under the new law, the Department of Justice adopted the “3P” paradigm to protect, prosecute, and prevent.
Protect: The TVPA makes survivors of human trafficking eligible for federal health benefits and services. They have access to state and local services such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The TVPA also establishes immigration protections for those trafficked across international borders.
Prosecute: The TVPA established new criminal provisions, mandating restitution, forfeiture, and harsher penalties for traffickers.
Prevent: The TVPA established the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) and the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons within the State Department (TIP), which produces the annual Trafficking in Persons Report.
Over fifteen federal agencies make up the PITF, including the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Much of the work of the PITF is dedicated to international initiatives, combating transnational trafficking. For example, participation from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ensures the prohibition of imported goods made with trafficked labor. The PTIF also receives insight from human trafficking survivors, with the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking being comprised of human trafficking survivors who advise and make policy recommendations to the PTIF. Hearing from survivors is crucial to better understand not only human trafficking but also the intricate policy details that impact the lives of victims and survivors. Stop Modern Day Slavery tells the stories of survivors here.
Reauthorizations
The TVPA has been reauthorized numerous times to improve policies and address gaps often highlighted by survivors. For example, the 2005 reauthorization focused on grant programs for state and local law enforcement agencies, tribes, local governments, and NGOs, such as food pantries and soup kitchens, domestic violence and homeless youth shelters, legal aid clinics, job training programs, ESL and GED assistance programs, and immigrant community organizations. This provides more support and protection for survivors, who can often be criminalized by the justice system. In fact, in a January 2023 survey of over 450 human trafficking survivors, over 60% indicated they had been arrested or detained by law enforcement, with many ending up with a criminal record.
Reauthorizations in 2008 and 2015 made it easier to convict traffickers, although convictions remain a challenge. While referrals, prosecutions, and convictions of human trafficking suspects have increased, albeit slowly, since 2011, convictions have not matched the pace of increases in prosecutions. You can explore the numbers with the two main federal databases that record and track U.S. crime data: the Uniform Crime Reporting Program and the National Incident-Based Reporting System. The National Hotline also compiles data and statistics based on the calls it receives and shares this data with the primary international database, the International Organization for Migration’s Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC).
Reauthorizations in 2013 and 2018 focused on eliminating human trafficking and forced labor from supply chains through engagement with private entities, new reporting obligations, training programs for professionals in high-risk industries, and a program to help businesses develop social compliance systems. The chocolate industry is notorious for child labor in supply chains, but many companies are dedicated to slave-free practices.
Most recently, the TVPA was partially reauthorized in 2022 with the passage of the Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act and the Abolish Trafficking Reauthorization Act. These two bills were part of a package of four bills meant to fully reauthorize TVPA funding that expired in September 2021, as well as provide expanded initiatives, services, and protections for survivors. The bills made it easier to prosecute trafficking co-conspirators, increased funding for specialized investigation teams focused on labor trafficking and child labor within the Executive Branch, and eliminated the sunset for the Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. Still, because only two were passed, there are still gaps, including funding for the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023 is the 118th Congress’s endeavor to fully reauthorize the TVPA. It passed in the House in February 2024 but did not make it out of the Senate, meaning protections and services for survivors and policies intended to combat human trafficking are not getting the attention or funding they require.
Originally from New Jersey, Corinne has always loved learning about different cultures and her family’s ancestral roots across Europe. She earned her Bachelors in International Studies at the College of New Jersey and recently received her Masters in International Relations in Madrid. She currently works for an international organisation at the UN in New York, and hopes to continue working on important global issues and their intersections with gender equality. In her free time, Corinne is likely to be on a hiking trail, at the gym, in the kitchen baking and listening to music, or on the couch with a good book.
