U.S. Department of State – 2019
This 2019 annual report provides actionable recommendations from the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking to U.S. government agencies on efforts nationally and internationally, and as agencies collaborate with State, local, and tribal governments, NGOs, faith-based organizations, community members, businesses, and philanthropists and the survivor community to prevent human trafficking. The Council is comprised of eight survivor leaders who bring their expertise and experience to advise and provide recommendations to the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) to improve federal anti-trafficking policies. The Council brings expertise from members’ personal experiences of human trafficking as well as members’ ongoing work and leadership in various national, State, local, and tribal anti-trafficking efforts. The Council has organized itself into two committees to conduct its work: Underserved Populations Committee and Survivor-Informed Leadership Committee. The report begins by explaining what human trafficking is and then provides an overview of each committee, identifies recommendations to improve federal anti-trafficking policies and programs, and highlights areas for future collaboration. The report concludes by calling upon federal agencies to sustain and institutionalize practices that bring survivors’ ideas and voices to the table and advocating that U.S. government agencies increase awareness and provide more support for underserved survivors and victims, so that all survivors have a fair chance for renewal, rebuilding, and long-term self-sufficiency.