Trafficking Victims Protection Act
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 as amended, is arguably the most important anti-trafficking law ever passed. The TVPA and its subsequent reauthorizations, define a human trafficking victim as a person induced to perform labor or a commercial sex act through force, fraud, or coercion. Any person under age 18 who performs a commercial sex act is considered a victim of human trafficking, regardless of whether force, fraud, or coercion was present. The TVPA enhances pre-existing criminal penalties in other related laws, affords new protections to trafficking victims and makes available certain benefits and services to victims of severe forms of trafficking once they become certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Under this law, one option that has become available to some victims who assist in the prosecution of their traffickers is the “T-Visa” that allows the victim to remain in the United States.
One important feature of the TVPA’s conceptualization of trafficking is that physical transport from one locale to another is not a requirement. Another is that the law addresses the subtle means of coercion used by traffickers to control victims, including: psychological coercion, trickery, and the seizure of documents, activities which were difficult to prosecute under preexisting involuntary servitude statutes and case law.
The TVPA seeks to combat trafficking by promoting a policy of “3 Ps”: prosecution, protection, and prevention:
- Prosecution involves passing the appropriate laws that criminalize trafficking, and jailing the abusers who exploit other humans for profit.
- Protection involves identifying victims, providing them with medical care and shelter (and if necessary witness protection), and, when appropriate, repatriating them.
- Prevention involves raising awareness of the inhumane practices involved in the trafficking trade and promoting a paradigm shift that seeks to reduce the demand for the “fruits” of human trafficking.
The United States government reports that since 2001 only 1,168 foreign nationals have been granted a T-visa available to victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons. In contrast, the United States government estimates that between 14,500-17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year. This discrepancy clearly indicates a U.S. failure to implement the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) effectively enough to identify and protect all those who are trafficked into the United States. The low numbers of victims identified can be attributed to many different obstacles in implementation. One important obstacle is a lack of access to necessary legal services.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Acts of 2005 and 2008 required the Department of Labor to compile and publish a list of products produced by child labor or forced labor, and the countries where these abuses were prevalent. The first report was finally released in 2009: The Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.
The State Department is tasked with evaluating the efforts of foreign governments to combat human trafficking by ranking them every year and placing countries in one of four categories. Tier 1 countries are those that meet the TVPA’s minimum standards of fighting human trafficking. Tier 2 countries are those states that, while not fully complying with the TVPA’s minimum standards, are making significant efforts to comply. Tier 2 Watch List countries are Tier 2 countries with significant trafficking problems and/or a slippage in their most recent efforts. Tier 3 countries are those that not only do not meet TVPA minimum standards, but also are failing to do much to combat trafficking. In the latest report, out of the 173 states assessed, only 28 merited Tier 1 status. Most countries (76) earned a Tier 2 rating. The remaining 69 nations were placed either on the Tier 2 Watch List (52) or Tier 3 (17).
U.S. Laws on Trafficking in Persons
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended provides the tools to combat trafficking in persons both worldwide and domestically. The Act authorized the establishment of the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to assist in the coordination of anti-trafficking efforts.
05/28/15 Survivors of Human Trafficking Empowerment Act (Section 115 of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015)
03/07/13 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2013 (Title XII of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013)
01/01/08 William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008
01/10/06 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 [
PDF version ]
01/07/03 Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools To End the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 (PROTECT Act) [ PDF version ]
01/07/03 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 [ PDF version ]
01/07/03 U.S. Leadership on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003
10/28/00 Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 [ PDF version ]
Other relevant federal statutes:
Peonage, 18 U.S.C. § 1581. Section 1581 of Title 18 makes it unlawful to hold a person in “debt servitude,” or peonage, which is closely related to involuntary servitude. Section 1581 prohibits using force, the threat of force, or the threat of legal coercion to compel a person to work against his/her will. In addition, the victim’s involuntary servitude must be tied to the payment of a debt.
Involuntary Servitude, 18 U.S.C. § 1584. Section 1584 of Title 18 makes it unlawful to hold a person in a condition of slavery, that is, a condition of compulsory service or labor against his/her will. A Section 1584 conviction requires that the victim be held against his/her will by actual force, threats of force, or threats of legal coercion. Section 1584 also prohibits compelling a person to work against his/her will by creating a “climate of fear” through the use of force, the threat of force, or the threat of legal coercion [i.e., If you don’t work, I’ll call the immigration officials.] which is sufficient to compel service against a person’s will.
Forced Labor, 18 U.S.C. § 1589. Section 1589 of Title 18, which was passed as part of the TVPA, makes it unlawful to provide or obtain the labor or services of a person through one of three prohibited means. Congress enacted § 1589 in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Kozminski, 487 U.S. 931 (1988), which interpreted § 1584 to require the use or threatened use of physical or legal coercion. Section 1589 broadens the definition of the kinds of coercion that might result in forced labor.
Trafficking with Respect to Peonage, Slavery, Involuntary Servitude, or Forced Labor, 18 U.S.C. § 1590. Section 1590 makes it unlawful to recruit, harbor, transport, or broker persons for labor or services under conditions which violate any of the offenses contained in Chapter 77 of Title 18.
Sex Trafficking of Children or by Force, Fraud, or Coercion, 18 U.S.C. § 1591. Section 1591 criminalizes sex trafficking, which is defined as causing a person to engage in a commercial sex act under certain statutorily enumerated conditions. A commercial sex act means any sex act, on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person. The specific conditions are the use of force, fraud, or coercion, or conduct involving persons under the age of 18. The punishment for conduct that either involves a victim who is under the age of 14 or involves force, fraud, or coercion is any term of years or life. The punishment for conduct that involves a victim between the ages of 14 and 18 is 40 years.
Unlawful Conduct with Respect to Documents in Furtherance of Trafficking, Peonage, Slavery, Involuntary Servitude, or Forced Labor , 18 U.S.C. § 1592. Section 1592 makes it illegal to seize documents in order to force others to work. By expanding its coverage to false documents as well as official documents, § 1592 recognizes that victims are often immobilized by the withholding of whatever documents they possess, even if the documents are forged or fraudulent. Section 1592 expands the scope of federal trafficking statutes to reach those who prey on the vulnerabilities of immigrant victims by controlling their papers.
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Additional Provisions Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
Mandatory Restitution, 18 U.S.C. § 1593
Attempt and Forfeiture, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1594(a) and
(b) Private Right of Action, 18 U.S.C. § 1595
Visa Fraud,18 U.S.C. § 1546
“Interpreting Judicial Interpretations of the Criminal Statutes of the TVPA Ten Years Later” Mohamed Y. Mattar, Executive Director of The Protection Project at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Journal of Gender, Social Policy & The Law [Vol,19:4]
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July 14, 2011 at 8:33 pm
[…] TVPA defines a human trafficking victim as A person induced to perform labor or a commercial sex act through […]
October 21, 2011 at 1:16 am
[…] TVPA defines a human trafficking victim as A person induced to perform labor or a commercial sex act through […]
December 16, 2011 at 2:56 pm
[…] TVPA defines a human trafficking victim as A person induced to perform labor or a commercial sex act through […]
October 3, 2012 at 3:10 am
[…] When I initially began conducting my research on modern day slavery, I assumed slaves only lived in other parts of the world. However, I was amazed to find that there are slaves everywhere, with many of them living in close proximity to every day Americans. Every waking moment of the day, slaves are in America, blending in with the average citizen. A slave is not an African American picking cotton back in the 1800s. Even though lots of Americans picture slaves as the hard workers on the field, slaves today are hard workers in common jobs. Many of them don’t look like a “typical” slave. By definition from The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, a slave is a person who is compelled into service by another https://fightslaverynow.org/why-fight-there-are-27-million-reasons/the-law-and-trafficking/traffickin…. […]
March 15, 2013 at 3:04 pm
[…] institutional accountability. In September, President Obama pledged his commitment to renew the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) during a highly public speech at the Clinton Global Initiative. Some say it was the longest […]
March 15, 2013 at 8:33 pm
[…] institutional accountability. In September, President Obama pledged his commitment to renew the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) during a highly public speech at the Clinton Global Initiative. Some say it was the longest […]
March 25, 2013 at 9:04 pm
[…] are common, Caldwell explained. Even if the immigrants are illegal, they are still protected by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act which allows victims to remain in the United […]
July 1, 2013 at 6:04 am
[…] we’re serious about ending human trafficking in the US, rescuing a little over 1,000 people as the US government has under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act isn’t going to cut it. […]
June 22, 2014 at 3:55 pm
[…] TVPA defines a human trafficking victim […]
May 26, 2015 at 6:06 am
[…] years since HUMAN TRAFFICKING began very many laws have been passed. But it is known to be said the MOST IMPORTANT law that has been made throughout history. This particular […]
July 23, 2015 at 1:59 pm
[…] as a tier two country – this means that our government does not fully comply with the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum standards, but is making efforts to rectify […]
October 19, 2015 at 5:33 pm
[…] [iii] https://fightslaverynow.org/why-fight-there-are-27-million-reasons/the-law-and-trafficking/traffickin… […]
March 25, 2016 at 6:50 am
[…] The US Department of State classifies Thailand as a Tier 3 country. This means that their government does “not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so” in regard to human trafficking. Similarly, Cambodia is a Tier 2 country meaning their government does “not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards”. The TVPA is the Trafficking Victim Protection Act and is in place to define trafficking, prosecute those responsible, protect victims, and prevent future incidences. A great source I found is the Fight Slavery Now blog, check them out here. […]
May 11, 2016 at 2:49 am
[…] An article about the TVPA from a blog called “Fight Slavery Now!” (pro-criminalization) […]
November 15, 2016 at 4:31 pm
[…] sex trafficking: U.S citizens, foreign nationals, women, men, children, and LGBTQ individuals. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) is the most important anti-trafficking law ever passed. TVPA combats trafficking by their […]
February 7, 2017 at 3:15 am
[…] federal prosecution. For example, according to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, sex trafficking is “the use of force, fraud, or coercion to lure victims and force them into sexual […]
March 11, 2017 at 1:54 pm
[…] Fight Slavery Now! website with information about the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. […]
March 15, 2017 at 8:50 pm
[…] Slavery Now, “Trafficking Victims Protection Act” Whitehouse.gov, “End Human Trafficking” (Antislavery Month – 2017) Susan […]
June 6, 2017 at 9:42 am
[…] This was typically done by state and local law enforcement agencies. Congress passed TVPA in 2000, which made tracking human trafficking rings the State Department’s responsibility. […]
July 31, 2017 at 5:08 am
[…] although a lot still needs to be done. However, most African governments do not fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so. The Act seeks to combat […]
March 27, 2018 at 9:40 pm
[…] plenty of obstacles — in part, Morris said, because of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which was passed in […]
April 13, 2018 at 5:13 pm
[…] per year is restricted to 5,000. Few of these visas are actually issued. Between 2001 and 2011, Fight Slavery Now! reports, only 1,168 foreign nationals were awarded T Visas. An estimated 17,500 foreign nationals […]
May 24, 2018 at 7:45 pm
[…] [2] Trafficking Victims Protection Act. (2009, November 29). Retrieved From https://Fightslaverynow.Org/Why-Fight-There-Are-27-Million-Reasons/The-Law-And-Trafficking/Trafficki… […]
May 25, 2018 at 12:27 pm
[…] For more information on the TPVA, including definitions and details of the amended laws and benefits to victims, please click on the link below. https://fightslaverynow.org/why-fight-there-are-27-million-reasons/the-law-and-trafficking/trafficki… […]
May 28, 2018 at 7:47 pm
[…] According to The Trafficking Victims Protection Act—one of the most comprehensive anti-trafficking law ever passed—the definition of human trafficking specifically defines a human trafficking victim as a person induced to “perform labor or a commercial sex act, through force, fraud, or coercion.” […]
June 2, 2018 at 3:45 pm
[…] Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) overview by Alpa Amin of GAIN, Ambassador Susan Coppedge, Alia El-Sawi of ICE and HSI […]
July 7, 2018 at 7:47 pm
[…] [2] Trafficking Victims Protection Act. (2009, November 29). Retrieved From https://Fightslaverynow.Org/Why-Fight-There-Are-27-Million-Reasons/The-Law-And-Trafficking/Trafficki… […]
December 11, 2018 at 7:48 pm
[…] [2] Trafficking Victims Protection Act. (2009, November 29). Retrieved From https://Fightslaverynow.Org/Why-Fight-There-Are-27-Million-Reasons/The-Law-And-Trafficking/Trafficki… […]
January 28, 2019 at 10:10 am
[…] [6] “Trafficking Victims Protection Act”, Fight Slavery Now, accessed on May 19, 2014, https://fightslaverynow.org/why-fight-there-are-27-million-reasons/the-law-and-trafficking/traffickin… […]
June 11, 2019 at 7:45 pm
[…] According to The Trafficking Victims Protection Act—one of the most comprehensive anti-trafficking law ever passed in the U.S.—the definition of human trafficking specifically defines a human trafficking victim as a person induced to “perform labor or a commercial sex act, through force, fraud, or coercion.” In this case, Woodward was forced and coerced into performing in porn, making each video she appeared in recorded evidence of her sexual slavery. And the worst part? Her case isn’t even close to isolated. […]
October 31, 2019 at 8:59 am
[…] The State Department is tasked with evaluating the efforts of foreign governments to combat human trafficking by ranking them every year and placing countries in one of four categories. Tier 1 countries are those that meet the TVPA’s minimum standards of fighting human trafficking. Tier 2 countries are those states that, while not fully complying with the TVPA’s minimum standards, are making significant efforts to comply. Tier 2 Watch List countries are Tier 2 countries with significant trafficking problems and/or a slippage in their most recent efforts. Tier 3 countries are those that not only do not meet TVPA minimum standards, but also are failing to do much to combat trafficking. (Source: Fight Slavery Now!) […]
October 24, 2020 at 7:14 pm
[…] [13] https://fightslaverynow.org/why-fight-there-are-27-million-reasons/the-law-and-trafficking/trafficki… […]
March 25, 2021 at 1:40 pm
[…] [12] Trafficking Victims Protection Act. (2009, November 29). Retrieved from https://fightslaverynow.org/why-fight-there-are-27-million-reasons/the-law-and-trafficking/trafficki… […]