Support for more human trafficking awareness and improving legal protections for trafficking victims included in two important bills

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES, April 28, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Youth for Human Rights is urging Congress to pass legislation which would help trafficking victims while also supporting training in awareness of human trafficking to reduce the number of victims.

This week Congress held an oversight hearing on federal efforts to combat human trafficking. The hearing was in support of the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). The TVPA is critical to preventing trafficking and supporting survivors.

Senators Chuck Grassley and Diane Feinstein introduced the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022. This bill would extend services programs to victims, promote additional screening of human trafficking victims, and would enhance training for federal investigators.

Additional training for federal investigators is critical, as more understanding of sex trafficking survivors’ actions and demeanor is important. For instance, many trafficking survivors are so intimidated that they appear subdued and frightened of the police. Such clues in previous police training are used to suggest guilt and police are urged to further interrogate the “suspects.” Trafficking victims will often admit to anything they are accused of in order to avoid punishment and torture (which is what they are used to experiencing at the hands of traffickers).

Also, last month Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the Abolish Trafficking Reauthorization Act of 2022 (S. 3946) in the U.S. Senate. This bill would reform current standards for child sex crime victims who have been prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system. The bill would allow judges to refer cases to juvenile court and ensure protection for human trafficking survivors.

Both of these bills provide the legal framework to combat and prosecute human trafficking crimes while addressing the way children who have experienced trauma are treated in the criminal justice system.

Child sex crime victims sometimes commit offenses against their abusers and these bills would require judges to consider trafficking issues and would also require the review of diminished culpability of children relative to adults when sentencing.

Unfortunately, police and government agencies say that human trafficking has increased during the pandemic. Youth for Human Rights has advocated for more awareness and training to combat human trafficking.

Youth for Human Rights International’s DC Chapter has continued to deliver training sessions online on how to spot the signs of human trafficking. This includes special training on how to be aware as a citizen, or even a parent, on how to spot key indicators of sex trafficking. Many victims of human trafficking are minors.

Sylvia Stanard, speaking for Youth for Human Rights DC, said, “As minors, many of these victims of trafficking are forced to commit crimes on behalf of their traffickers. Some cases have also involved trafficking survivors fighting off their attacker/trafficker and then being charged as an adult for murder or attempted murder. The fact of being trafficked or being assaulted and protecting themselves has often been ignored. These two bills, when passed, will help to correct that problem with more training of police and prosecutors as well as giving judges more leeway in considering trafficking and extenuating circumstances at sentencing.”

Youth for Human Rights has joined with dozens of human rights, child protective groups, and human trafficking survivor organizations in urging the passage of legislation against trafficking. Youth for Human Rights educates youth in their human rights so they know their rights and can defend these rights for themselves and others.

Youth for Human Rights International has been working to prevent human trafficking on a national and international level for well over a decade. Raising awareness of human rights is the necessary undercut to this and so many other human rights issues. Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” To read all of the human rights as listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights go to: http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights

Online training and events on trafficking done by Youth for Human Rights have included speakers from Airline Ambassadors, the Mexico Coalition against Trafficking, Karana Rising, and other anti-trafficking organizations. For information on the signs of trafficking go to: https://www.youthforhumanrights.org/voices-for-human-rights/human-rights-abuses/human-rights-trafficking-awareness.html

About Youth for Human Rights:
Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to teach youth about human rights, specifically the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to inspire them to become valuable advocates for tolerance and peace. YHRI advocates for human rights both in the classroom and in nontraditional educational settings such as through art series, concerts, and other interactive community events, including regional and international human rights summits which bring youth together from across whole sectors of the world. Their most recent campaign has included #KnowYour30 with the deliberate purpose of increasing awareness of the 30 human rights every person has -- and how they are a part of everyday life. To learn more about human rights go to https://www.youthforhumanrights.org. For a documentary on Youth for Human Rights and its founder, go to https://www.scientology.tv/series/voices-for-humanity/mary-shuttleworth.html.

Sylvia Stanard
Youth for Human Rights DC
+1 202-667-6404
email us here

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