Urge Congress to Vote Yes on The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention & Protection Reauthorization Act

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The most consequential federal law on human trafficking is the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), originally passed in 2000 and reauthorized several times since. This means that 24 years ago, there were virtually no services specifically for trafficking victims and a lack of understanding without the federal legal context to define human trafficking. The TVPA provides not just the legal foundation to combat trafficking, but also the comprehensive framework guiding the federal government’s response to the crime which includes programs that support those directly impacted.

Recognizing that there are still gaps in services and too many situations in which people who are victimized and exploited are stigmatized, dismissed or mistreated, TVPA reauthorization is necessary. Last September, the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023 was introduced in the House of Representatives and is up for a House floor vote today!

This reauthorization bill keeps supporting the spirit of the first and subsequent reauthorizations with the framework of the “three Ps:” protection, prosecution, and prevention, but most specifically it reauthorizes:

  • Important resources for anti-trafficking programs internationally;
  • Vital programs at the US Agency for International Development (USAID); and
  • Much needed funding to operate The National Human Trafficking Hotline

UPDATE - February 14, 2024 - The House of Representatives passed this legislation on February 13th. Learn more here.