The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) today joined other organizations in pledging action to center survivors in the U.S. anti-trafficking movement. The pledge was presented at the global Freedom from Slavery Forum in the Dominican Republic, where movement leaders have gathered this week under the theme of galvanizing a survivor-centered movement. The statement was presented along with a report by a working group of lived-experience leaders on harm that has been caused by the movement, with recommendations for change. The allies statement and link to the survivor report are below ..read more

A new report shines a light on ways anti-trafficking organizations in the United States have fallen short, harmed survivors, and need significant reforms to create a survivor-centered movement in the future. The report, We Name It So We Can Repair It, Rethinking Harm, Accountability and Repair in the Anti-trafficking Sector, was released this spring by the Lived and Professional Experience Movement-Building Working Group. It is available on the National Survivors Network website. The report is essential reading for anyone working in – or providing funding to – the anti-trafficking field. “Peop ..read more

May 1, 2023 Dear Members of Congress, As a group of civil society organizations working directly with human trafficking survivors, and leading efforts to dismantle the systems that allow human trafficking to flourish in this country, we write today to share our perspectives on the importance of the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline (the “Hotline”), operated by Polaris. Recent estimates indicate that 28 million people are trafficked worldwide. Each year, in this country alone, thousands of victims and others bravely decide to seek help in cases of sex and labor trafficking via the Hotline ..read more

WASHINGTON – The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) is requesting $1.7 billion in federal funding next fiscal year to combat human trafficking, forced labor and their root causes. The requests include increases for key programs, noting that more people have become vulnerable to trafficking because of the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the affordable housing crisis, impacts of climate change, the invasion of Ukraine, migration, and global economic disruptions. A robust fiscal response is essential to mitigate these increased risks and to provide essential services to sur ..read more

WASHINGTON – The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) applauds key members of the Senate Foreign Relaitons Committee for re-introduction of the International Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act – TVPRA (S. 920). The bill was part of a package introduced in the last Congress to reauthorize the act; it passed the Senate unanimously but did not receive final passage in the House. This bill is a key component to reauthorize the legal framework for efforts by the United States to combat forced labor and human trafficking at home and abroad. S. 920 includes important new pr ..read more

February 17, 2023 The Honorable Cindy Dyer Ambassador-at-Large U.S. State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) RE: Request for Information for the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report, United States government input (FR Doc. 2022-26668) Dear Ambassador Dyer: Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the creation of the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report. One thing that stands out about the U.S. government’s efforts to combat human trafficking is the J/TIP team’s diligence in soliciting and integrating information from civil society organizations. This bols ..read more

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden this week signed two bills passed in December during the final days of the 117th Congress to reauthorize portions of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). ATEST applauds enactment of these bipartisan measures and calls on the current Congress to complete critical elements of TVPA reauthorization without delay. The two bills signed Thursday are S. 3946, sponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and S. 3949, sponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). ATEST endorsed both bills. They include important ..read more

WASHINGTON – The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) thanks the U.S. Senate for confirming Cindy Dyer to become the next director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP), with the rank of ambassador. Her appointment by President Biden earlier this year was confirmed by a unanimous bipartisan vote of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this month and by unanimous consent of the full Senate last night. The J/TIP director is one of the U.S. government’s top anti-trafficking positions. Dyer will oversee an office of about 100 staffers who produce t ..read more

December 9, 2022 The Honorable Chuck Schumer U.S. Senate Majority Leader The Honorable Mitch McConnell U.S. Senate Minority Leader Dear Senators Schumer and McConnell, The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) urges you to quickly bring to a full Senate vote the nomination of Cindy Dyer to direct the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP), with the rank of Ambassador at Large. Her nomination to this critical post received unanimous bipartisan support from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this week. Filling this essential position, which has been vac ..read more

WASHINGTON – The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) thanks members of the U.S. Senate for passage this week of the International Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (S. 4171). This bill is a key component of a four-part package of legislation to reauthorize the legal framework for efforts by the United States to combat forced labor and human trafficking at home and abroad. The bill includes important new provisions proposed by ATEST, including: Strengthening protections for domestic workers brought to the United States by diplomats and staffers of international org ..read more