The mission of TraffickingWatch.org is to provide information about human trafficking, particularly as it relates to the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 2007.
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The mission of TraffickingWatch.org is to provide information about human trafficking, particularly as it relates to the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 2007.
The New York Times published today a letter to the editor from an anti-trafficking supporter opposing H.R. 3887. Finally--some discussion from those at the forefront of the trafficking issue. Published letters and articles such as this one are desperately needed. The news media must help re-balance the the discussion about H.R. 3887's controversial provisions.
From the NYTimes, in response to "Taking On the Traffickers" editorial on August 23:
"Human trafficking is a terrifying problem, and federal law enforcement has identified only a fraction of its victims. But expansion of the Mann Act to include federal prosecution of state prostitution cases would be counterproductive to antitrafficking efforts.
The barrier to successful prosecutions has not been the burden of proving force, fraud and coercion, but the lack of resources for investigating these difficult cases.
By shifting the focus of the law from human trafficking, which includes people in all areas of forced labor, to prostitution, the House bill threatens to divert scarce and necessary resources from victims. Expanding the definition of trafficking would also harm those who are in sex work because of economic necessity."Read More
"The real problem with inflated numbers for trafficking victims is that they create pressure for a quick policy fix. But human trafficking is intertwined with larger issues of immigration policy, poverty reduction, access to education, workers' rights (on farms, in restaurants and as domestic help), women's rights, and official corruption. Rather than tackle this briar patch, the tendency has been to call it all "sex trafficking" and stage splashy raids on brothels.
Such "rescues" not only fail to stop human trafficking, they also sweep up and demonize sex workers who have entered the trade on their own, driving them underground and closing off the opportunity to recruit them as allies against trafficking.”
SAPNA PATEL
Staff Attorney
Sex Workers Project
Urban Justice Center
New York