U.S. Department of State

Year	Prosecutions	Convictions	New or Amended Legislation
2003	50	10	3
2004	134	29	7
2005	194	58	12

Year	Prosecutions	Convictions	New or Amended Legislation
2003	1,727	583	1
2004	438	348	3
2005	2,580	2,347	5

Year	Prosecutions	Convictions	New or Amended Legislation
2003	2,437	1,561	14
2004	3,329	1,274	20
2005	2,598	1,984	12

 

Year	Prosecutions	Convictions	New or Amended Legislation
2003	1,004	279	4
2004	134	59	1
2005	112	104	3

Year	Prosecutions	Convictions	New or Amended Legislation
2003	2,599	355	0
2004	2,705	1,260	1
2005	964*	214*	0

*The decline in 2005 is largely due to the lack of data provided by the government of India, unlike previous years.

Year	Prosecutions	Convictions	New or Amended Legislation
2003	175	27	2
2004	145	56	7
2005	170	59	9

 

U.S. GOVERNMENT DOMESTIC ANTI-TRAFFICKING EFFORTS

 

The U.S. Government (USG) in 2005 advanced an aggressive anti-trafficking campaign to address trafficking crimes and victims identified in the United States. This coordinated effort includes several federal agencies and approximately $25 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 for domestic programs to boost anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts, identify and protect victims of trafficking, and raise awareness of trafficking as a means of preventing new incidents. Specifically, this coordinated effort has resulted in the following successes:

• In 2005, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged 116 individuals with human trafficking, almost doubling the number charged in FY 2004. Approximately 80 percent of those defendants were charged under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000. Forty-five traffickers were convicted, of which 35 were implicated in sexual exploitation. These statistics represent federal investigations; law enforcement in states and localities also make significant, indispensable contributions to the fight against trafficking in persons.
• As of May 22, 2006, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had certified 1,000 victims of human trafficking since the TVPA was signed into law in October 2000. In FY 2005, HHS certified 230 foreign victims of human trafficking from a remarkably diverse array of countries including: Albania, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Paraguay, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Western Samoa. Certification allows human trafficking survivors to access most services and benefits, comparable to assistance provided by the U.S. to refugees.
• In FY 2005, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued 112 T-visas to foreign survivors of human trafficking identified in the United States. T- visas are a special visa category resulting from the TVPA. Through February 2005, DHS issued a total of 616 visas to human trafficking survivors, and another 573 T-visas to members of their family.
• In 2005, state law enforcement agencies convicted over 26,000 "johns" for trying to buy sex services.
• In FY 2005, HHS launched new antitrafficking coalitions in ten U.S. cities to increase public awareness of human trafficking and to increase the number of trafficking victims identified as part of its Rescue and Restore campaign.

The Department of Defense amended its Manual for Courts Martial in October 2005, as a preventative measure under the Government's "zero tolerance" policy on human trafficking. Now, patronizing a prostitute is a chargeable offense under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. DOD has also developed a trafficking awareness program to draw attention to the criminality and human consequences of trafficking in persons. The program will be mandatory for all military members and DOD civilians by the end of the year.

 

While significant progress has been made, the U.S. Government's efforts to address trafficking within the borders of the United States still need improvement. Greater efforts should be made to ensure suspected trafficking victims have time to be counseled, and to provide trafficking information to law enforcement authorities. Victim protection services for U.S. citizen trafficking victims, particularly those who are minors, should be more consistent across the country. Lastly, like most other countries, the USG must continue its efforts to reduce the gap between estimated TIP victims and those who step forward to help in prosecutions and receive services. For a complete assessment of USG efforts to combat trafficking in persons, please visit the Department of Justice Web site.