Sex Trafficking Provisions Recently Signed Into Law

Washington, D.C. – A number of provisions aimed at combating sex trafficking – including language directing the Justice Department to aggressively target Web sites that facilitate trafficking – are in the 2014 Omnibus spending bill recently signed into law, according to Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds the Justice Department.

 

The measure also directs the FBI to increase the amount of resources dedicated to human trafficking, improve coordination with other law enforcement agencies to better address trafficking and regularly report to Congress on what it is doing to fight trafficking.  

 

In addition to the language on trafficking, the bill also provides $417 million for the Office of Violence Against Women, which is higher than both the FY 2013 level and the president’s 2014 budget request, and calls for a renewed effort to address “honor violence,” a form of violence against women that is often committed by family members because of a belief that they have dishonored the family.  The Justice Department is now required to start collecting and reporting statistics on “honor violence” in the U.S. 

 

Under the bill, the Attorney General is required to submit a comprehensive report on all DOJ anti-trafficking activities, including legislative proposals to bolster anti-trafficking enforcement.  The Justice Department also is required to detail any action it has taken to investigate allegations of human trafficking or abuse of nonimmigrant visa holders to enforce a policy of zero tolerance for sex and labor trafficking by federal contractors.

 

Wolf has repeatedly pressed the Justice Department to assess whether the current legal framework allows law enforcement to prosecute the likes of Backpage.com, which has been found to serve as a conduit for the buying and selling of human beings online.  

 

“Human trafficking is modern day slavery,” Wolf said. “The assumption is that these heinous crimes happen only in faraway lands is misguided.  It is happening right here in our backyard.  Many of us drive by it every day and don’t even realize it.”   

 

Wolf said the bill provides nearly $14.25 million for grants to help victims of trafficking and provides funding for the Human Trafficking and Slavery Persecution Unit and Anti-Trafficking Coordination Teams, including $88.5 million for youth mentoring grants and $67 million for missing and exploited children programs.

 

U.S. Attorneys also are expected to maintain their human trafficking task forces and to continue to undertake proactive investigations, including investigations of persons or entities facilitating trafficking in persons through the use of classified advertising on the Internet.  In addition, the Justice Department must continue its outreach in the form of public notices with regard to the prevalence of human trafficking activities and report to the CJS subcommittee on its efforts.

 

Wolf is a longtime leader on the issue of combating human trafficking. For more on Wolf’s work to combat human trafficking, click here.

 

For more information about the Omnibus, click here.