Trafficking Infrastructure Grows: New York’s Statewide Initiative
In the past month, the State of New York has introduced 11 new Human Trafficking Intervention Courts (including Buffalo and Rochester, near where I live in upstate NY). According to the New York Times, the new courts are modeled after three pilot projects that had been established earlier in New York City, and the “initiative is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.” The NY law resembles the federal U.S. law in targeting force, fraud and coercion (what the national...
Read MoreThe International Labor Recruitment Working Group
Formed in October 2011, the ILRWG is the first coordinated effort to strategically address abuses in international labor recruitment across visa categories. The Working Group is comprised of organizations working in various industries and with workers with a wide variety of visa types. The Working Group seeks to end the systemic abuse of international workers who are recruited to the U.S., by collaborating across labor sectors to develop comprehensive policies and advocate for reforms,...
Read MoreThe Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal Center
Most trafficking victims in the United States do not have access to justice. In 2003, Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which gave trafficking victims the right to sue their traffickers for damages. But in the 10 years since the law was passed, fewer than 100 civil cases have been filed under the civil human trafficking statute. Trafficked persons have significant rights under U.S. law, but they cannot exercise these rights without competent legal counsel....
Read MoreThe Freedom Network
The Freedom Network is a national alliance of advocates and organizations that take a comprehensive and holistic approach to combating human trafficking. The breadth and depth of their work is evident in factsheets that recognize the “poverty and economic injustice, racism, gender-based discrimination, and political strife” that underlie human trafficking. Established in 2001 by people hailing from an array of backgrounds—immigration, children and victim rights, social services, farm...
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