Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2013

The U.S. Department of State has released its annual Trafficking in Persons Report.

"In September 2012, President Barack Obama delivered a speech reaffirming the commitment of the United States to fight modern slavery, known also as trafficking in persons. The President instructed the U.S. government to step up its efforts-- to develop new innovations and use effective tools, including this annual 'Trafficking in Persons Report', to confront this crime wherever it exists."

"Yet as President Obama pointed out, the work to eradicate modern slavery remains an uphill struggle. This 'Report' estimates that, based on the information governments have provided, only around 40,000 victims have been identified in the last year. In contrast, social scientists estimate that as many as 27 million men, women, and children are trafficking victims at any given time. This shows that a mere fraction of the more than 26 million men, women, and children who are estimated to suffer in modern slavery have been recognized by governments as such and are eligible to receive the protection and support they are owed."

Besides the lack of support and protection for the victims, inadequate victim identification also means "that the traffickers who enslave and exploit millions are operating with impunity, beyond the reach of the law."

As a result, this report "focuses on victim identification as a top priority in the global movement to combat trafficking in persons. It details training and techniques that make identification efforts successful, as well as the pitfalls of inadequate identification. It also highlights new innovations and partnerships within and beyond government that will enhance identification efforts. If successfully implemented, these innovations will enable more effective delivery of services to survivors and an accumulation and analysis of data to improve the overall response to trafficking."

This report provides the stories of victims of human trafficking from around the world as well. These stories illustrate the numerous forms of modern exploitation, and they give a sense of the variety of places where trafficking occurs.

"Each year, this Report takes an unflinching view at human trafficking around the world. What governments are doing, and what they are failing to do. And, each year, as a group we select the photographs that accompany the Report. Through these images, readers have had to confront the reality of the sex trade, the plight of manual laborers, the often hidden abuse of domestic workers, and the historical legacy of slavery. None of it is pleasant, but it must be confronted. […] We know that these images provoke. They demand that we confront what happens in secret. […] You have seen the images. You have read their accounts and the country narratives. In the words of trafficking survivor Tina Frundt [...] 'Now that you have the knowledge, what will you do with it?'"

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