Policies & Legislation

Originally titled the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910, later renamed The Mann Act for Representative James Robert Mann (R), the act made it a felony to engage in interstate or foreign commerce transport of “any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose”. In 1978, Congress updated the act’s definition of “transportation” and added protections against commercial sexual exploitation for minors, including boys. In 1986, an amendment further protected minors and added protection for adult males making the law gender neutral. As part of a larger 1986 bill focused on criminalizing various aspects of child pornography, the Mann Act was further amended to replace the ambiguous “debauchery” and “any other immoral purpose” with the more specific “any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense”.
Source: Britannica

On International Women’s Day, March 11, 1998, President William J. Clinton issued an Executive order on Steps to Combat Violence Against Women and Trafficking in Women and Girls. It directed the U.S. government to increase its efforts within the United State and in partnership with other countries to match the increased sophistication and scope of worldwide trafficking as a crime and human rights abuse and to improve protections for its victims. The directive centered on a three-part anti-trafficking strategy consisting of prevention, victim assistance and protection, and enforcement.
Source: Freedom First Celebrating 20 Years of Progress to Combat Human Trafficking, U.S. Department of State

The TVPA was a successful collaboration that brought together a group with widely divergent interests and legislative agendas. Those who were involved worked to advance the creation and development of the legislation, seeking to reduce and ultimately eliminate the bondage of humans around the globe. Several concepts were hotly debated: how to balance concerns about border security, immigration, and rule of law with individual rights and protection of vulnerable people, and whether the focus should be on just sex trafficking or also include forced labor. The U. S. Department of Justice pushed for legislation that would support prosecutorial efforts to bring traffickers to justice by criminalizing non-violent forms of coercion. In the bill, Congress expanded the definition as: a) threats of serious harm to or physical restraint against any person; b) any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act would result in serious harm to or physical restraint against any person; or c) the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process.

In 1999, Representative Chris Smith (R), introduced legislation that would later become the TVPA of 2000 and included victim protection provisions affording temporary immigration relief in the form of T visas. On the Senate side, Senator Paul Wellstone (D) raised the issue and language of human trafficking introducing the International Trafficking of Women and Children Victim Protection Act which eventually laid the groundwork for Senate Bill 2414, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which Senator Wellstone introduced in April 2000.
Source: Freedom First Celebrating 20 Years of Progress to Combat Human Trafficking, U.S. Department of State

Through truly bi-partisan work, humanity was addressed and legislation addressing domestic as well as international human trafficking passed and has continued to do so being signed into law by Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden.

On November 15, 2000, in Palermo, Italy, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime finalized the Palermo Protocol providing the first internationally-agree definition of “trafficking in persons.” It included six types of non-violent coercion in addition to the traditional force and restraints construction, and covered all forms of trafficking (including for sex and labor). It ushered in a victim-centered approach and provided the 3P paradigm of prosecution, protection, and prevention.
Source: Freedom First Celebrating 20 Years of Progress to Combat Human Trafficking, U.S. Department of State