[serialposts]Eleven years ago the United States government enacted one of the largest, most important, pieces of human-rights legislation in U.S. history. Known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), it was the first federal law that sought to comprehensively address human trafficking and modern-day slavery. It not only targeted the more commonly known international aspects but also the more hidden domestic aspects of human trafficking. The law seeks to do three things:
- Prevent vulnerability
- Protect survivors
- Prosecute human traffickers
Thanks to this law and great advocacy work being done nationwide, the issue of human trafficking is becoming less hidden. As more people become aware of modern-day slavery occurrences, more offenders are caught and prosecuted. More victims are rescued. More lives are changed.
Sounds great right?
It is. But there’s a catch. The current law is set to expire on September 30. Yup – that’s right – in just 10 days. Unless Congress enacts a new law before then, all the work that is being done to eradicate modern-day slavery will be stunted. All the work that’s already been done will be for nothing.
As of right now, the legislation is still in Committee in both the House and the Senate. But you can help! Take a moment to review the pending legislation and then contact your representatives and ask them to support it.
You may be thinking to yourself, “Well, Congress is a little busy right now. I really hate to bother them with this.” In all honesty – isn’t this piece of legislation more important than anything else Congress is doing right now? This piece of legislation is all about saving lives.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be exploring the issue of human trafficking and modern-day slavery a little more. We have lots of exciting posts planned for you including:
- A personal reflection on the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report
- An exclusive interview with Nita Belles, author of In Our Backyard
- Thoughts on Not in My Town by Dillon Burroughs and Charles Powell
- A review of controversial film The Whistleblower
- Thoughts on how you can help stop human trafficking
- And more…
You can check out a story about how the current legislation is working, and track the pending legislation. Stay tuned, and don’t forget to make that call!
Do you have a story to share about human trafficking or modern-day slavery? Have you had an experience that has really opened your eyes to the issues of human trafficking and modern-day slavery? Please share your thoughts in the comments, or let me know if you’d like to write a guest post here about your experiences.
This seems to be one of the L-rd’s hotbuttons of the moment. It is also at the forefront for Jerusalem Institute of Justice in Israel. We need to all connect with congress on this important issue. Even if you do not know anyone involved or damaged in any way by this, it cheapens our society as a whole and so touches every individual. Please, please let your elected officials know that this must be stopped and is not acceptable.
This is definitely an issue worldwide, and you are so right – it touches every one of us, whether we know someone involved or not. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!
What’s shocking is that they probably put forth a great deal of effort to enact this law and they would be willing to let it fall to the wayside without further thought. We have elected some shameful officials to represent us.
Sandy – thanks for stopping by! Let’s not call them shameful just yet … there’s still time for them to enact it…even if it is getting down to the wire. Hopefully, with our persuading, they will enact the pending legislation and continue the work that is being done!