Amending existing or creating new legislation is one way a world of impact can be made in the fight to end and prevent human trafficking. This month, we’ve gathered a list of bills currently before Congress that we support. We invite you to spend some time familiarizing yourself with these proposed bills, and then, encourage you to use the resources below to contact your representative or senator and voice your support for these efforts too!
Acts Currently Before Congress
- The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023 (H.R. 5856) is essential for funding housing and employment opportunities for survivors of human trafficking. This is the only act on this list that has received a vote, passed the House of Representatives, and been received and read in the Senate. The reauthorization of this act is critical to continued funding for services and investigations, so we encourage you to contact your senators and voice your support for this bill today!
- The Child Marriage Prevention Act of 2024 (S.4990) comprehensively combats child marriage in the United States. Over 300,000 minors were married in the United States between 2000 and 2018. Currently, 4 states have set no statutory minimum age for marriage. In 13 states and the District of Columbia, clerks can issue marriage licenses for all minors.
- The National Human Trafficking Database Act (S.4534) establishes a national human trafficking database at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and incentivizes certain state law enforcement agencies to report data to the database. This act was inspired by and is modeled after the most recent work we completed in Tennessee through our Engage Together® Project, which you can learn more about here.
- The Renewed Hope Act of 2024 (S.5015) provides for the hiring and training of certain personnel at the Department of Homeland Security, including forensic analysts and child exploitation investigators, to support identification and recovery efforts of victims of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
- The STOP CSAM Act of 2023 (S.1199) revises the federal framework governing the prevention of online sexual exploitation of children.
- The Stop Human Trafficking in School Zones Act (H.R.30) establishes an enhanced penalty—an additional prison term of up to 5 years—for certain human trafficking offenses and sex offenses involving minors that occur within 1,000 feet of a school, school-sponsored activity, playground, or public housing facility.
- The TAKE IT DOWN Act of 2023 (S.4569) protects and empowers survivors of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) while also holding tech companies accountable for hosting nonconsensual sexually explicit images (NCOSE).
- The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2024 (H.R.7137) brings relief to survivors of human trafficking by providing resources to expunge their criminal records for crimes committed while they were in situations of trafficking (Polaris Project).
Action Steps for You Today
- Spend some time familiarizing yourself with these bills.
- Contact your senators and representatives – voice your support for these bills and ask your legislators for their support in Congress.
- Review our previous blog post on this topic: What Are Human Trafficking Reforms?
- Utilize resources such as the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) to learn more about current policy and legislation efforts impacting human trafficking.
- Check out the resources and information about human trafficking on our website.
- Sign up for Engage Together® communications to receive resources and news of existing efforts in your inbox.
- Earn your FREE Human Trafficking Awareness Badge from Justice U™ and get equipped to increase your impact in your local community.
- Review resources specific to your role and discover how you are uniquely positioned to engage.
- Share this information with others in your circle.
Supporting and familiarizing yourself with legislation that aims to end and prevent human trafficking is a practical action step you can take right now and easily share with others. Contacting the senators and representatives from your state is a powerful way to move from awareness to action. Legal reforms are essential to ending and preventing human trafficking, and individuals have a critical role to play in making sure needed reforms occur. So be encouraged today that you can make a difference, right where you are, by 1) sharing this blog with others and 2) contacting your congressional representatives today.