Human trafficking is the slavery of the 21st century. In December, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3887, “The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA),” by a vote of 405-2. This legislation, sponsored by the late Congressman Tom Lantos, includes critical provisions that represent a massive paradigm shift in patterns of law enforcement against sex trafficking and the commercial sex industry. The Senate should quickly follow suit in order to crush the global human trafficking industry, which generates profits to rival the illegal arms and drug trades.

Currently, states investigate and prosecute the bulk of prostitution-related crimes under an outdated mindset. That framework fails to address sex trafficking and the extreme exploitation and violence that many face in the commercial sex industry. Instead, victims are the targets of law enforcement, while those who control and buy them are rarely targeted. As a result, victims of trafficking and abuse in the industry do not know where to turn for help.

The House version of the TVPRA represents an historic break from that paradigm by directing the federal government to lead the fight against domestic sex trafficking. The federal approach represents a different law enforcement model. It is like the much-vaunted Swedish law, which is making inroads against trafficking not by treating the victims as criminals, but instead by training its sights on a more appropriate target: those who exploit them. The federal government doesn’t criminally prosecute women in prostitution. It only prosecutes pimps – with the caveat that they must have crossed state lines.

H.R. 3887 would eliminate the requirement of interstate transport, so that the feds would have jurisdiction whenever they determine, in collaboration with state partners, that federal prosecution is most appropriate. Sex traffickers can be prosecuted under the current sex trafficking statute, which requires evidence of “force, fraud or coercion,” (unless the victim is a minor), or under this new statute with the lower standard – ideally both charges can be used together to ensure convictions against traffickers.

H.R. 3887 also would require the federal government to create a new model state law. Since passage of the original TVPA, 39 states have created their own criminal laws against human trafficking. A model state law promulgated by the U.S. Department of Justice was hugely influential. But a new model law is needed to encourage states also to reform their anti-prostitution laws according to the new paradigm.

Exploited persons must know that they have rights, appropriate services must be made available, and the focus of law enforcement activity should be against the traffickers and abusers. This is true even when evidence of force, fraud and coercion is unavailable or ineffective due to victim trauma, fear or the stigma that currently surrounds those involved in the commercial sex industry. This stigma must be erased in favor of a more humanitarian approach to some of our most vulnerable citizens. Through our collective efforts, we can make a difference.

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By N.Y. Dem. Rep. Carolyn Maloney

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 4:39 pm and is filed under Politics .