Remarks to the National Foundation for Women Legislators Annual Conference

Each year, some 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders. We estimate that 14,500-17,500 of them end up in the United States. These are people lured through fraud, or through outright force or coercion away from their homes to perform forced labor--most often prostitution. For the first time this year, the U.S. Government was able to break down trafficking victim statistics by gender and age. The new information was shocking: 80% of victims are female, the majority of these women and girls are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and 50% of the victims are children under 18. They work as modern-day slaves under truly abhorrent conditions.

It is alarming that in the 21^st century, a modern-day form of slavery like this not only exists, but is relatively widespread in some areas, and even has a foothold in America. This is a multi-dimensional threat: a violation of human rights, a public health problem, and a threat to international stability, because trafficking thrives where the rule of law is weak.

Trafficking in persons generates considerable revenue for criminals. According to the FBI, human trafficking is a lucrative business with profits estimated at $9.5 billion annually. As Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said last year, "This is…a business so lucrative that our intelligence community estimates it will outstrip the illicit trade in guns and narcotics within a decade."

In the last several years, the federal government has taken a number of steps to combat trafficking in persons. In 2000, Congress passed the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and this was strengthened in December 2003. It established increased penalties for various trafficking-related crimes, and required the government to track the problem and conduct coordinated anti-trafficking activities at home and abroad. At the State Department, the Act laid the groundwork to create a new Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. It also established the authority for the Department to rate countries based on their efforts to curtail this illegal trade, and apply select sanctions to those who do not take sufficient action to fight trafficking.

This is accomplished through a report generated each year on countries with at least 100 cases of trafficking. This year, the State Department released its fourth annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which rated 140 countries. Each nation is evaluated and placed on one of three tiers or on a special watch list. The report has been instrumental in encouraging foreign governments to seriously address trafficking that takes place within or across their borders. Several foreign leaders have now spoken out on the topic, including Russian President Putin, Philippine President Arroyo, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin, and Guyanese President Jagdeo.

President Bush and Secretary of State Powell have assigned great importance to combating human trafficking. In fact, the President signed the first-ever National Security Presidential Directive on trafficking-in-persons in December 2002. President Bush was also the first head-of-state to draw attention to the issue when addressing world leaders at the UN General Assembly and has now done so twice. Secretary Powell leads a Cabinet-level task force on trafficking, has spoken extensively about the problem, and raises it frequently with foreign diplomats. At the beginning of this year, he spoke in Moscow at a conference on trafficking-in-persons. The Russian Government, in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy and the Moscow office of the American Bar Association’s Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative, held the first National Assembly of Russian anti-trafficking NGOs there in January.

In the last two fiscal years, we have spent more than $150 million in 70 countries for anti-trafficking law enforcement, victim support, legislation and regional cooperation.

The Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, and Labor take the lead on domestic anti-trafficking efforts. The Justice Department investigates and prosecutes human trafficking cases within the U.S. In addition to jailing offenders, government can also help by aiding victims. The Department of Health and Human Services is doing just that through its Rescue & Restore campaign.

In addition to federal initiatives, states have also begun to act, and that, of course, is where you come in. There is no way for federal prosecutorial resources to catch all the trafficking cases that exist in your states. States are in a better position to fully grasp the domestic trafficking problem, and take steps to end this affront to freedom in America.

Washington, Texas, and Florida have anti-trafficking laws. Missouri has a more focused statute against trafficking of children. Minnesota and New Jersey are both considering legislation that would establish new crimes of forced labor or services, sexual servitude, and human trafficking.

State legislatures are in the best position to assess the local trafficking problem, and tailor ways to help victims and deter and punish traffickers. Different situations call for different solutions. The Department of Justice seeks to help states that wish to act on trafficking, and has created a template or "model law" that can be used as a starting point for legislation. It is posted on the Department’s web site.

There are other ways to approach the issue. Connecticut, Arizona, and Washington all have legislatively-created task forces on trafficking in persons, which evaluate the extent of trafficking and existing means to curtail the problem. Other task forces are empowered to suggest legislative changes and measure progress by state agencies.

States often find these changes are necessary, because current statutes do not always cover the range of activities in which traffickers engage. For example, a trafficking crime can involve kidnapping and prostitution, but these might be in unrelated parts of the state code. New laws are typically created to ensure there are no legal gaps for traffickers to exploit. They also provide for local training about trafficking and increase criminal penalties.

I would like to cite one particularly innovative law approved last May in Hawaii. It relates to prostitution. Many states have laws against promoting prostitution that could be used to prosecute sex tour operators. However, Hawaii is the first state to specifically criminalize the activities of sex tour operators because the law recognizes the link between sex tourism and human trafficking. It states: "Prostitution and related activities, which are inherently harmful and dehumanizing, contribute to trafficking in persons, as does sex tourism. The low status of women in many parts of the world has led to a burgeoning of the trafficking industry. Discouraging sex tourism, which is an estimated $1 billion-per-year business worldwide, is key to reducing the demand for sex trafficking." The act makes it a felony to sell or offer to sell travel services for the purpose of engaging in prostitution, with up to 5 years in prison.

Domestic trafficking is best handled through a joint effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement. There is much that leaders in your position can do. You can survey existing criminal codes to determine if they include prohibitions on involuntary servitude, kidnapping, or false imprisonment, for example, and determine whether those statutes have been brought to bear against traffickers.

I’m delighted to learn you plan to establish a task force. It can be useful to create task forces and programs that involve many jurisdictions, and whose members come from different disciplines, in order to address trafficking in persons locally. For instance in May, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami hosted a training session with federal, state, and local researchers, non-governmental organizations, and law enforcement officers, to inform and involve them in anti-trafficking activities.

The help of civilians and the private sector can be essential--especially when it comes to assisting victims. Task forces and public-private partnerships can bring together philanthropists, lawyers, doctors, media, faith-based organizations, public relations specialists and others to tackle this on a community level.

Last but not least, it is essential to coordinate anti-trafficking efforts with federal authorities. Our Departments--State, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Justice--have resources devoted to the fight against trafficking in persons, and state governments should avail themselves of these whenever possible. We are here to help, and we seek to partner with you in the fight against this crime and human rights abuse.