ECPAT-USA Responds To State Department Request For Information On Anti-Trafficking Work Through A Racial Lens
As part of our advocacy efforts, ECPAT-USA always welcomes the chance to work with governmental agencies and other organizations in the anti-trafficking space. This week, our Director of Public Policy, Nina DeJonghe, collaborated with Rights 4 Girls and the Democracy Forward Foundation to submit a letter to the U.S. State Department in response to their request for information on how to conduct anti-trafficking work using a racial equity lens. Additionally, it was signed by 33 other organizations.
The letter reads in part:
"Structural racism is inextricably linked to perpetuating exploitation and trafficking of people of color, as is the disproportionate over-policing of victims and survivors of color…racism compounds with other root factors and forms of discrimination to victimize and oppress people of color as well as create barriers to accessing critical supports needed to prevent and survive trafficking.”
Advocates also included five experiences and observations that correlate to the outlined areas in the initial RFI to assist in the State Department’s efforts to better engage and collaborate with communities that are directly affected by these issues:
Federal agencies must demonstrate an understanding of the racial and gender imbalances and dynamics in sex trafficking.
Law enforcement agencies must center victims and hold traffickers and buyers accountable.
Federal agencies must incorporate considerations of racism and race in every aspect of anti-trafficking work and prioritize demand reduction.
Federal agencies should look to existing frameworks that center victims of color.
Federal agencies should prioritize meaningful partnerships with organizations that are on the ground serving victims and survivors of trafficking.
Read the letter submitted in full here.