The White House has issued a Presidential Proclamation declaring January 2020 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. In addition to condemning human trafficking, the proclamation highlights the 20-year anniversary of the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA):
"This year marks nearly 20 years since our Nation took decisive steps in the global fight against human trafficking by enacting the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and nearly 15 years since the United States ratified the United Nations’ Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol). Both the TVPA and the Palermo Protocol established a comprehensive framework for combating human trafficking by establishing prevention programs, creating victim protections, and advancing prosecutions under expanded criminal statutes to usher in the modern anti-trafficking movement domestically and globally."
The proclamation also lists some of the recent efforts to combat human trafficking across several agencies, including HHS:
"In October 2019, the 19 members of my Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons convened to highlight significant accomplishments in our sustained, whole-of-Government fight against human trafficking. The Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team (ACTeam) initiative, led by the Department of Justice, more than doubled convictions of human traffickers in ACTeam districts. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security initiated more than 800 investigations related to human trafficking and the Department of State launched its Human Trafficking Expert Consultant Network, comprised of survivors and other subject matter experts, to inform its anti-trafficking policies and programs. The Department of Health and Human Services continues to provide funding for the National Human Trafficking Hotline, and in Fiscal Year 2018 it funded victim assistance programs that provided benefits and services to more than 2,400 victims. For the first time, the Department of Transportation committed $5.4 million in grants to the prevention of human trafficking and other crimes that may occur on buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation. The Office of Management and Budget also published new anti-trafficking guidance for Government procurement officials to more effectively combat human trafficking in Federal contracting."
Read the full proclamation and learn how you can help end trafficking.
More ways to participate: Prevention and public awareness activities will be posted throughout January on our events calendar.