The U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking released its Annual Report
The U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking released its Annual Report last Tuesday, available on the State Department website here. Created by the Justice of Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-22), the Council is comprised of 11 presidentially-appointed survivors human trafficking who lend a broad spectrum of experience and expertise to the U.S. Government response to trafficking.
The report—the first of its kind—elevates several established best practices, such as the use of victim-centered and trauma-informed approaches in all trafficking programs and responses. It also encourages better coordination and data-sharing among federal agencies, and recommends specific steps for individual pillars of the US Government’s trafficking response. The report compels the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for example, to work with Congress to create a housing preference for survivors of trafficking. It also encourages the Department of Labor to remove age and background check requirements for employment assistance programs.
Throughout the report, the Council strongly advocates for greater involvement and compensation of survivor leaders at all levels of the fight against trafficking in persons. Council-member Ronny Mary reiterated this point for NPR’s coverage of the report launch: “The government, NGOs, any organization that wants to really fight human trafficking,” he said, “should be asking survivors.”
The U.S. Advisory Council will continue to engage with the Executive Branch colleagues, advising groups such as the President’s Interagency Task Force and the Senior Policy Operating Group, and following up to seek progress among the several areas laid out in the report.
