Trafficking Victims Protection Act Of 2000
Introduction
This paper will examine the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). This act is significant to social work because this is growing problem that is taking place in the world as well as the United States. Social workers need to be informed and aware of this dilemma that seems to be growing in our nation. Many of our clients may have been victims of trafficking or have had family members that have been victims of trafficking. Social Workers need to know how to handle situations like these that may be occurring in order to provide the client with the best possible assistance.
Historical Background
Before the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) was passed on October 28, 2000, there was not much done to protect victims of trafficking. Before being passed there were no statutory maximum sentences for traffickers, therefore leaving the victims without a voice to be heard. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 originated from the Violence against Women Act of 1994 (Tiefenbrun, 2007).
Congress passed this act which helped to create community-based programs to prosecute domestic violence as a crime. As a result of the passing of this act, the Violence Against Women Office (VAWO) of the Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice was created in 1995. The VAWO’s purpose is to “lead the national effort to stop domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking of women.” Once passed, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 provided resources for protection of and assistance for victims of trafficking and created avenues for inter-agency cooperation in the field of human trafficking (Schauer, 2006). It also allows many trafficking victims to remain in the United States and apply for permanent residency under a T1 Visa. This law also tried to encourage efforts to prevent human trafficking internationally, by creating annual reports from various countries on...
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