Professional Documents
Culture Documents
On
behalf
of
the
Alliance
to
End
Slavery
and
Trafficking
(ATEST),
we
the
undersigned
are
providing
you
a
copy
of
a
study
on
the
prevalence
of
human
trafficking
in
the
United
States.
ATEST
is
a
U.S.‐based,
nonpartisan
coalition
of
complementary
organizations
dedicated
to
developing
a
specific
and
time‐bound
policy
agenda
for
abolishing
slavery
and
human
trafficking
through
policy
advocacy
and
government
relations,
grassroots
constituency‐building,
strategic
communications,
and
engagement
with
the
private
sector
to
address
trafficking.
The
current
member
organizations
address
many
different
aspects
of
human
trafficking,
including
labor
trafficking,
sex
trafficking,
trafficking
within
the
United
States
and
global
trafficking.
The
attached
study,
consisting
of
a
review
of
existing
research
on
human
trafficking
in
the
U.S.
conducted
by
researchers
at
Northeastern
University
and
the
Urban
Institute
and
initiated
by
ATEST
concludes
that
the
types
of
data
reported
by
the
U.S.
Government
and
other
non‐governmental
agencies
is
not
sufficient
to
fully
understand
the
nature
of
the
trafficking
problem
in
the
United
States.
Trafficking
victims
go
undetected,
for
example,
because
U.S.
officials
lack
the
training
necessary
to
identify
them,
and
even
when
identified,
a
victim’s
case
may
not
advance
to
the
point
where
they
are
counted
in
law
enforcement
statistics.
Even
where
they
are
counted,
not
enough
specific
information
is
reported
to
truly
understand
trafficking
in
the
United
States.
In
addition,
there
are
certain
kinds
of
trafficking
that
are
missed
entirely
in
existing
data
collection
efforts.
Immediate
work
needs
to
be
done
to
better
understand
the
scope
and
nature
of
U.S.
human
trafficking
in
order
to
effectively
combat
modern‐day
slavery
in
the
United
States.
Based
on
a
review
of
this
study
and
our
analysis
of
its
conclusions,
ATEST
calls
on
the
U.S.
Government
to:
1.
Improve
existing
federal,
state
and
local
government
data
collection‐‐
• In
addition
to
collecting
data
on
human
trafficking
through
the
Uniform
Crime
Reports,
U.S.
government
agencies
that
routinely
collect
information
on
human
trafficking
should
expand
their
data
collection
and
reporting
to
include:
a)
type
of
victimization
b)
the
duration
of
the
conditions
c)
country
of
origin
of
the
victim
d)
the
amount,
if
any,
of
overlap
of
victim
reporting
to
multiple
agencies.
• Require
the
Trafficking
in
Persons
(TIP)
point
of
contact
at
each
U.S.
Attorney’s
office
to
collect
data
on
trafficking
from
state
and
local
law
enforcement.
The
TIPS
would
share
data
with
the
FBI.
This
practice
would
reduce
reporting
responsibility
on
state
and
local
law
enforcement
and
create
uniform
data
collection
in
the
Uniform
Crime
Reports.
• Expand
existing
data
collection
surveys
and
other
potential
data
sources
to
include
questions
to
identify
at
risk
populations
for
human
trafficking.
Specifically,
reports
on
exploitative
labor
conditions
and
immigration,
as
well
as
national
data
collection
programs,
such
as
the
Youth
Risk
Behavior
Study
and
the
National
Agricultural
Workers
Survey,
could
be
modified
to
incorporate
additional
questions
that
could
identify
at
risk
populations
for
human
trafficking.
Additional
training
of
relevant
government
officials
or
individuals
may
be
necessary
to
help
identify
victims
and
collect
information
for
these
surveys
or
other
potential
sources.
2.
Create
an
effective
center,
either
within
the
U.S.
Government
or
an
institution
of
higher
learning,
that
collects
and
analyzes
data
from
practitioners,
service
providers,
academics
and
law
enforcement.
• The
center
would
collect,
analyze
and
identify
emerging
trends
in
trafficking:
e.g.
the
type
of
victimization
and
the
country
of
origin.
• The
center
would
also
collaborate
with
service
providers
to
assess
what
additional
original
research
is
needed.
For
example,
need
for
basic
research
to
determine
where
trafficking
occurs,
whether
or
not
conducting
a
victimization
survey
is
plausible
and
useful,
and
conducting
a
saturation
study
in
certain
cities
to
obtain
better
and
more
detailed
samples.
Signed,
The
Alliance
to
Stop
Slavery
and
End
Trafficking
(ASSET)
Coalition
to
Abolish
Slavery
&
Trafficking
(CAST)
Free
the
Slaves
International
Justice
Mission
Not
for
Sale
Campaign
Polaris
Project
Ricky
Martin
Foundation
Solidarity
Center
Vital
Voices
Global
Partnership