PROTECT Act Of 2003: Policy Analysis

Kotrla, K., & Wommack, B. A. (2011). Sex Trafficking of Minors in the U.S.: Implications for Policy, Prevention and Research. Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 2 (Iss. 1), article 5.

The policy that intrigued me to research is the “Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003” or “PROTECT Act” (GPO, 2003). The law was passed at the 108th Congress and was given the law number of 108-21 on April 30, 2003 (GPO, 2003). The agencies that were involved with passing the law and maintaining the law today are Homeland Security, FEMA, and the US Department of Justice (DHS, 2015).

In 2014, the states considered more than 220 bills that addressed human trafficking, including 24 bills in 11 states that called for expanding services to sexually exploited youth. (State Legislative). The United States expanded services like the “safe harbor” for sexually exploited children. In the United States, about 300,000 children are at the risk of being exploited and trafficked for sex. Human trafficking impacts millions of people globally; as a community we need to come up with a solution to stop it; some solutions may be, provide security for victims (of being trafficked); and help force laws against it.

The issue of child sex trafficking is difficult to compromise with. When looking at the big picture of child sex trafficking it is taken into account that this is, in fact, a crime. With the consequences and effects this crime has on the children involved the opinion held by many is that it should be stopped immediately. There are current anti-trafficking laws in place to protect victims and children at risk. In 2000 the U.S. Congress passed the “Trafficking Victims Protections Act 2000” and is updated and reauthorized every two years, but TVPA only applies to federal cases tried in federal courts (Californians Against Sexual Exploitation, 2012). With these type of laws children are protected from potentially being trafficked. On the NPR website an interview took place between NPR interviewer Arun

Every year in the United States, up to 300,00 children, aged 18 and younger, are forced into the commercial sex trade. Sex trafficking not only occurs in the United States but throughout the world. Not only are young girls trafficked but also young boys. Child sex trafficking is highly a major issue because of how victims are targeted, how it effects a child and their life and there are certain signs to look for to notice if a child is being trafficked.

As observed from the research, there are a large number of children, especially those in the foster care system, who are affected by human and sex trafficking in the United States. Despite efforts to ensure the safety of sexually exploited children, they are sometimes still criminalized as prostitutes by those who lack awareness of the gravity of sex trafficking. The sexual exploitation of children is a crime that continues to be set aside by those who believe that human trafficking does not occur in a country that advocates for “human rights”. Prior to SB 1322, laws like the CASE Act of 2012 failed to truly protect these children who suffered a great amount of stigma and reproach from the government. With the passing of laws like the CASE

Human Trafficking is the illegal act of manipulating humans to engage into sexual acts for money against their will (NHTRC). Human Trafficking has been a extensive conflict throughout our societies among countries. This topic is very crucial because Human Trafficking is considered the modern form of slavery. Due to the global rate of Human Trafficking increasing over the past few years, the United States government is alarmed. The government fears crimes, displacement, and retaliation within families. Human Trafficking has progressed over the past hundreds of years beginning initially with slavery in the 1400s-1600s, to currently rape and smuggling humans from foreign countries. Human Trafficking has become oppressive due to the government’s lack of laws, regulations, and immigration policies, which need enhancements with more specifics to provide further prevention.

Human trafficking received more attention since the United Nations Protocol to Prevent Suppress and Punish Trafficking on Person (United Nations 2000) and the United Stated anti-trafficking law Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (United States 2000).The United States adopted its first anti-trafficking law by ratifying a convention that was created in the United Nations, United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Person (2000), which was known as “the Palermo Protocol.”

Human sex trafficking is an illegal trade that is steadily increasing in the United States. In particular, human trafficking starts with young children. Around the world today, 5.5 million children are victims of trafficking (Bales, Free the Slave). Young children become victims to sex trafficking for many different reasons. How they enter into the system is one issue, but who is there to help them get out is a bigger issue? Children are forced into the sex trafficking system multiple times a day, because traffickers stalk and track down vulnerable children. All of the outlets of socializing for young people are exactly the outlets that traffickers search to capture their victims and force them into the sex

Since the global issue of human trafficking is one that transcends through multiple borders and countries, it then becomes difficult to enact one legal instrument that can protect persons who are being trafficked through multiple different states that have different laws and legislations. Moreover, as stated by Chuang (2006), the current legal responses are often reluctant in addressing the socio-economic root causes of the problem as they typically adopt a “three-prong” framework focused solely on the prosecution of trafficker, protecting trafficked persons, and preventing trafficking (Chuang, 2006, p.2). However, Chuang (2006) further explains that the legal response is often focused predominantly on prosecuting traffickers, and to a lesser extent, protecting trafficked persons. The problem with this approach is that the broader socioeconomic reality that drives the trafficking in human beings becomes overlooked. Essentially, Chuang (2006) is arguing that there needs to be a shift in how governments view trafficking and shift from a legal framework and instead view this issue from the framework of migration, poverty, discrimination, and gender based violence. Against this backdrop, trafficking is reframed as a migratory response to the current globalizing trends (Chuang, 2006,

There is without a doubt that we live in a world where child sex trafficking is widespread and well-received. Although sex trafficking is illegal, the reality of children performing sexual acts is in favor and in demand. Children are forced into street prostitution, continuous beatings, and raped to make money for the pimps and johns. These vulnerable children come from impoverishment and hardship where in most cases guardians often sell their children off for money or debt. There are many organizations to help children with the abuse; helping them escape from the imprisonment in the United States but in order to stop the problem there has be firmer laws in place to capture the traffickers. The perceptibility of child sex trafficking is unbearable

“Human trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labor is believed to be one of the fastest growing areas of criminal activity.” (Gozdziak, Bump, Duncan, MacDonnell & Loiselle, 2006). This means that a universal definition of sex trafficking is needed even more urgently. Bosworth found that “there was no internationally recognized definition of sex trafficking until 2000.” The problem this really caused was that “none of them offered a definition of what was to be abolished.” (Madden Dempsey, Hoyle & Bosworth, 2012). Therefore, because there was no clear definition of sex trafficking, even if someone wanted to fight

About 100,000 American children have become victims of sex trafficking annually. Human trafficking is a difficult situation to think about, however, many people are in denial about this situation and don’t want to acknowledge that it still remains a problem all around the world.

Human trafficking today is consider as the highest rising organized crime in the United Nations. Even though the practice of modern slavery is frowned upon in today society and view as an unethical practice it’s still practiced among many enterprises. Human trafficking has been found to be one of the most lucrative business in modern society today. The annual revenue being anywhere between $9 and $32 million. “It is said that the volume of human trafficking is likely to surpass that of drug and arms trafficking within the next ten years.” (Ngwe and Elechi,

The extent of the global human trafficking problem is vast. According to U.S. State Department estimates, which are considered conservative, each year somewhere between 600 thousand and 820 thousand men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders. Approximately 70 percent of those trafficked are women and girls and nearly 50 percent are minors(“Global issues” para. 3). Global Human trafficking in its various forms is a huge business. The international labor organization estimates roughly 44.3 billion dollars of profits flows in every year from human trafficking. Most of that profit is coming out of the sex trade. According to the 2009 United Nations