- Georgia Capitol dome
On most days of the year, the Georgia capitol building is swarming with activity. On February 1st, however, there is a sense of urgency and purpose not often seen among the usual visitors to the political center of the city. Community leaders, activists, students, and others are there to remind their legislators that throughout the state of Georgia, minors of both sexes are sexually exploited. Approximately 7200 Georgia men pay pimps to participate in sex acts with these youth, who are coerced and manipulated into performing. [1] In 2005, Atlanta was named by the FBI as among fourteen U.S. cities with the highest incidences of sex trafficking, and the latest research from the Governor’s office of families and children suggests that in Georgia alone, between 220 and 500 girls are commercially exploited each month. [2]
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If you were unaware of the flurry of activity regarding National Call-In Day on September 8th, you might also have missed the point behind it: to encourage legislators to pass the 2011 version of the Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Act, or TVPRA, which is set to expire on September 30, 2011. However, even if you missed National Call-In day, it’s not too late to call your senators and encourage them to pass the bill. International Justice Mission makes activism easy by offering an idiot-proof guide to calling senators about the TVPRA.
Jesse Eaves, Policy Advisor for World Vision’s Children in Crisis program, stresses the extreme importance of the bill to anti-trafficking efforts:
“The Trafficking Victims Protection Act is hugely influential in giving other countries the support they need to step up their fight against trafficking…It is the best diplomatic tool we have, and if it is not renewed, the United States’ fight against trafficking will end on October 1.” (Health News)
So what’s so important about this bill, anyway?
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In 2000, the State Department Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons established the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) to respond to the crisis of global and dosmetic human trafficking. The act created visas and assistance for victims of trafficking, defined trafficking as a federal crime, set a global standard for all countries to address trafficking based on a three-tiered system, and authorized the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. (View the most recent TIP Report by clicking here.)
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) was introduced in the Senate in June of 2011. Authorization will both extend the bill for another three years and
- Authorizing the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Office to negotiate child protection compacts with designated focus countries to increase resources and political will to eradicate child trafficking (the essential provisions of the Child Protection Compact Act).
- Providing resources to allow the TIP Office to respond quickly to requests for technical assistance from foreign countries.
- Instructing the State Department regional bureaus to designate anti-trafficking specialists in our Embassies abroad to collect information on trafficking and communicate U.S. concerns to foreign government officials. (IJM)
On September 30, 2011, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act is set to expire. Organizations and activists have rallied together to raise awareness and mobilize people to contact their senators. On September 8, join these activists for National Call In Day. Take a few minutes out of your day and call your senator to let them know that the TVPRA is important to you as their constituent, and encourage them to sign on as co-sponsors of the bill.
International Justice Mission provides an easy template for registering to call and also provides a way to search for senators by zip code. They even have a script right there on the website to use, so there’s no way to feel silly or uneducated. At Innocence Atlanta, we encourage you to excercise your voice as a constituent and take a stand for victims of human trafficking in the United States. Make the call. Make a change in someone’s life.
To check out the Event Page for National Call In Day, click here.
Click here to sign up with International Justice Mission.
After prevention and prosecution, protection is the third “P” of the TVPA.
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On Thursday afternoon of June 30th, the Meet Justice Staff, among many other listeners, tuned in to hear Dottie Laster host her show TRAFFICKED on Here Women Talk radio. This week’s show featured an analysis of the State Department’s Trafficking In Persons (TIP) report that was released this past Monday. In addition, Dottie spoke to Meet Justice Operations Manager Jessica Reis about Meet Justice’s efforts in the fight against human trafficking. Both were great segments—if you missed the hour-long show, check out the archived version at here.
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