International Justice Mission (IJM) welcomes the House passage of the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Act of 2017. Introduced by Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Karen Bass (D-CA) with bipartisan support, the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act ensures America’s continued leadership in the fight to prevent human trafficking, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators both here in the United States and around the world.

“I’m encouraged that trafficking in persons continues to be a bipartisan issue that is prioritized by the United States Congress,” said Tim Gehring, IJM’s Policy Director. “The United States has a unique role to encourage other countries to improve their efforts to combat trafficking in persons, while remaining vigilant to do the same with our own policies. I’m confident that the Frederick Douglas Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Act will do just that to address all forms of trafficking.”

The Frederick Douglas Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Act is the sixth iteration of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act that established the U.S. Government’s anti-trafficking framework to address comprehensively address trafficking in persons.

International Justice Mission works in 17 communities across the developing world to combat human trafficking, modern day slavery, and other forms of violence against the poor by partnering with local authorities to rescue and restore victims, restrain perpetrators, and transform broken public justice systems.