The Trafficking Victims Protection Act Decade: Progress and Promise

Today, 145 years after Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution declaring that, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude...shall exist within the United States," human trafficking continues to plague communities across our country. Thousands of women, men, and children are trafficked into the United States and within our borders each year. They are deceived, coerced, imprisoned, intimidated, exploited, and abused for their labor or services.

May 3–5, the Department of Justice is hosting a National Training Conference on Human Trafficking. In celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), this year’s Conference is an opportunity for the field to reflect on the U.S. anti-human trafficking movement—its achievements, successes, and the lives impacted by these dedicated efforts. The Conference also will provide a platform for us to identify lessons learned from our collective work as we continue to investigate human trafficking cases, assist victims, and prosecute traffickers.

As President Obama declared in his 2010 Presidential Proclamation designating January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, "We must join together as a Nation and global community to provide that safe haven by protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers."