2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Center for Women Policy Studies

GLOBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT DATA
I N T R O D U C T I O N
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2003 added to the original law a
new requirement that foreign governments provide the Department of State with data on trafficking
investigations, prosecutions, convictions and sentences in order to be considered in full compliance
with the TVPA’s minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking (Tier 1). The 2004 TIP Report
collected this data for the first time. The requirement became fully effective starting with the 2006
Report. The chart below compares data collected for this and the three preceding Reports:
YEAR Prosecutions Convictions New or Amended Legislation
2003 7,992 2,815 24
2004 6,885 3,025 39
2005 6,618 4,766 41
2006 5,808 3,160 21
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The Greatest Challenge:
Victim Protection
The TVPA gives us a victim-centered approach
to address trafficking, combining anti-crime
and human rights objectives. Without adequate
protection for victims, efforts to address trafficking
crimes are unlikely to be effective. The TVPA’s
criteria for evaluating a government’s efforts to
combat trafficking in persons include an explicit
criterion on victim protection:
“Whether the government of the country
protects victims of severe forms of trafficking
in persons and encourages their assistance
in the investigation and prosecution of such
trafficking, including provisions for legal
alternatives to their removal to countries
in which they would face retribution or
hardship, and ensures that victims are
not inappropriately incarcerated, fined, or
otherwise penalized solely for unlawful acts
as a direct result of being trafficked.”
Best practices in implementing this TVPA
criterion include:
n Governments should proactively identify
victims of trafficking. Without victim identification,
adequate protection is impossible.
Government agencies should establish formal
victim identification procedures to screen at-risk
populations such as persons apprehended for
violations of immigration laws, prostitution
laws, and begging or labor laws. Victims of
trafficking should not be expected to identify
themselves; proactive investigative techniques—
such as interviews in safe and non-threatening
environments with trained counselors and
appropriate language services—should be used
to identify possible trafficking victims.
n Once identified, a suspected victim of trafficking
should be afforded temporary care as
a victim of a serious crime. This could include
shelter and counseling that allows a potential
victim to recount his or her experience to
trained social counselors and law enforcement
personnel at a pace with minimal pressure.
n Confirmed trafficking victims should not be
punished for crimes that are a direct result of
being trafficked—such as not holding proper
immigration documents or violation of prostitution,
labor, or begging statutes. Trafficking
victims should not be detained in criminal
detention facilities, except in extreme circumstances.
They should be treated as victims.
n Confirmed trafficking victims should be
encouraged to cooperate with law enforcement
authorities in the investigation of the crime
committed against them. Furthermore, they
should be encouraged to assist in the prosecution,
if possible, of the persons that trafficked or
exploited them.
n Trafficking victims who are unwilling or unable
to cooperate in a trafficking prosecution can be
returned to their community of origin provided
that this return is accomplished in a responsible