2021 US Advisory Council Report

Survivor voices are essential in the movement to combat human trafficking. The newly released Report from the presidentially appointed US Advisory Council on Human Trafficking provides key priorities of a diverse group of 11 human trafficking survivors. Of the Council’s 19 recommendations, several topics stand out.

Housing

The Advisory Council’s “underserved populations committee” emphasized the need for housing opportunities for survivors in multiple recommendations. Calling for increased funding and coordination, the Council highlighted the importance of safe, sustainable housing in survivors’ recovery from the crime of human trafficking. 

Pornography

For the first time since the Advisory Council’s creation in 2015, the Council called upon the US government to examine and address the intersection between pornography, human trafficking, and child sexual exploitation. The Council noted that 16 states have recognized pornography’s negative impact on public health and the correlations between consuming pornography and the purchase of commercial sex. Specifically, the Council stated that “It is time that the federal government also take deliberate action to acknowledge the direct links between pornography and human trafficking.”[1] 

Don’t Prosecute Victims

Traffickers often compel victims to engage in unlawful conduct. Sometimes these offenses generate money for the trafficker or they contribute to the climate of fear that causes victims to avoid law enforcement. Far too often governments wrongly prosecute victims for this unlawful conduct even though the victims lacked the intent to commit any crime. The Council recommends that government avoid criminalizing victims and instead find alternatives to prosecution that are trauma-informed.

[1] Page 29.