Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representatives Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA), along with the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, took part in a briefing hosted by Lifetime Television, Amnesty International USA, and the Tahirih Justice Center titled, “Women and Girls as Global Commodities.”

Larsen took the opportunity to educate Members of Congress and their staff on the mail order bride industry and legislation he has introduced to regulate it, the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (H.R. 3657).

Also speaking was Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino.  Sorvino stars in a new Lifetime Television miniseries “Human Trafficking,” which exposes the global commoditization of women and girls.  In the miniseries, Sorvino plays an undercover immigration agent who poses as a “mail order bride” to expose a human trafficking ring.  It will air October 24th and 25th.  Sorvino is also an Ambassador to Amnesty International as part of their Stop Violence Against Women Campaign.

Each year 9,000 to 14,000 foreign women come to the U.S. through for-profit international marriage brokers (IMBs).  Two highly-publicized murders of women in Washington state by husbands they met through IMBs highlighted a growing nationwide trend of abuse.  The briefing was an opportunity for Members to learn about the industry and why protections are necessary for foreign women.

A 2003 study found that over 50 percent of legal assistance providers serving battered immigrant women had helped women who met their abusers through IMBs. These foreign fiancées often are unable to obtain reliable information about the criminal and marital histories of their prospective spouses, and are unaware of the legal rights and resources available to victims of domestic violence in the U.S.

Larsen became personally invested in the issue after Anastasia King and Susanna Blackwell, both mail-order brides living in Washington state, were murdered by their husbands.