Why Preventing Human Trafficking Sounds a Lot like Human Rights Advocacy

Jonathan Todres

Human trafficking is a hot topic on Capitol Hill.  In January, the House passed 12 human trafficking bills.  While it’s impossible to provide in-depth analysis of every bill in this brief essay, this wave of legislation merits significant attention because it signals a shift in approach to this grave violation of human rights.

The current U.S. response to human trafficking started with the adoption of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000.  Since then, the TVPA has since been reauthorized four times, other federal legislation has been passed, and all 50 states have adopted anti-trafficking legislation.  For much of this time, criminal law centered measures have predominated.  This is understandable in many respects, as human trafficking is a serious crime, and criminal law responses have the added benefit of building on an existing criminal justice system. In more recent years, legislation has also focused on services for trafficking survivors. 

 This year’s wave of legislation reflects a growing understanding both that a comprehensive multi-sector response is necessary and that we need to prevent these harms from occurring and not only pursue perpetrators and assist victims after the harm has occurred. Several bills reflect this shift.

 H.R. 350 – the Human Trafficking Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery Act of 2015 – would mandate evidence-based research on prevention strategies with a view to identifying best practices.  Other bills seek to move response efforts in the direction of earlier intervention by focusing attention on the role of the child welfare system and health care professionals (a full list of the bills is below).

Many of these bills touch upon issues that are at the core of human rights advocacy, including health care, housing, education, and social services. Given the current political climate, it’s not surprising that they have not been presented as human rights responses to human trafficking.  Yet it’s worth noting that the broader approach evidenced in the 12 bills passed by a Republican-led House of Representatives echo what human rights advocates have said for many years:  rights—including the right to live free from exploitation—are interdependent; and reducing vulnerability to harms such as human trafficking requires a comprehensive approach that recognizes both the rights of all and all rights of every individual.

This is not to say, of course, that human rights advocates would embrace every provision of all 12 bills. I have my own concerns about certain proposed steps and about what is left out of some bills. But that debate is for another column. As a starting point, this series of bills should prompt advocates on all points of the political spectrum to realize that preventing exploitation of vulnerable individuals requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the root causes of these harms, something human rights has long called for.

            

1. H.R. 181 –      Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, as amended (Sponsored      by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) & Carolyn Maloney (D-NY))
2. H.R. 159 –      Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act of 2015, as      amended (Sponsored by Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) & Gwen Moore      (D-WI))
3. H.R. 469 –      Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of      2015 (Sponsored by Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA))
4. H.R. 350 –      Human Trafficking Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery Act of      2015 (Sponsored by Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) & Doris Matsui (D-CA))
5. H.R. 468 –      Enhancing Services for Runaway and Homeless Victims for Youth Trafficking      Act of 2015 (Sponsored by Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV))
6. H.R. 246 –      To improve the response to victims of child sex trafficking (Sponsored      by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH))
7. H.R. 398 –      Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Act of 2015 (Sponsored      by Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) & Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL))
8. H.R. 460 –      Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2015 (Sponsored by Rep. Mark      Walker (R-NC))
9. H.R. 285 –      Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act of 2015 (Sponsored by      Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO))
10. H.R. 514 –      Human Trafficking Prioritization Act (Sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ))
11. H.R. 515 –      International Megan’s Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex      Trafficking (Sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ))
12. H.R. 357 –      Human Trafficking Prevention Act (Sponsored by Rep. Sean Patrick      Maloney (D-NY))