Identification and Overview

The author of this blog seeks to inform the reader about policy regarding human trafficking. The specific policy that will be analyzed was first introduced in 2000 and was called the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. In each respective section of this blog the author will address different aspects of the policy including its pre- and post- introduction history, social implications, economic effects, political support and lack of support, analysis of goal attainment, and proposals for future bill modification.

In October of 2000, an act addressing the long standing problem of human trafficking, specifically human sex trafficking was implemented in a United States’ federal effort to protect victims of the slave trade and to prosecute their traders. Protection and prosecution weren’t the only areas addressed in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, but an added emphasis on prevention to increase public awareness was also tackled. In an attempt to create reader awareness it is only necessary to define human trafficking in lay terms which is as follows: the attainment and transport of humans, male or female, by way of “force, fraud, or coercion” generally by an established for-profit criminal organization who subjects their detainees to “involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery,” (International Rescue Committee, 2008, p. 1).

Slavery, as viewed by most industrialized nations, is a violation of human rights. Corruption, however, is prevalent in almost every society even those expressedly committed to the common good. Sex bondage can be particularly heinous. Vulnerable women (those who are often victims of poverty due to collapsed post-communist economies) are promised upstanding jobs by inconspicuous strangers only to be shipped off to a dim lit room where men critique their naked bodies as if they were a piece of meat. The women are bought at a price and sold at a price, their worth is their body, and their survival is based on their compliancy. They make barely enough to get by as most of their income goes to their “pimps”. Thirteen hour days are common, as are seven day weeks. Monthly periods are no excuse for temporary leave; diaphragms to prevent leakage are required purchases with the minimal profit often needed for food and contraceptives ( Blint & Westbrook, n.d.).

Sadly money speaks and impoverished ears listen. As a result, humans are seen as objects for profit. The extreme sorrow, however, is that they are free of choice in regards to such a scenario. The policy makes sure explicit emphasis is put on the fact that these victims are involuntary as there are some who willingly submit to serving within the sex market. It is important to note, however, that these individuals generally don’t face as severe circumstances as some others ( Blint & Westbrook, n.d.).