The Southern Poverty Law Center is at it again--this time expanding past enforcement and application of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). Passed in 2000, the TVPA is landmark federal legislation that is used to prevent trafficking overseas, protect and rehabilitate victims, and prosecute traffickers. Since its inception, the TVPA has only been used to prosecute traffickers for individual cases and coersion has been narrowly interpreted--until now.
A human trafficking lawsuit, involving hundreds of Filipino guestworkers, Louisiana Public Schools and an international trafficking ring run by labor contractors, is the first to utilize the TVPA as a class action suit. The Filipino workers, around 300 of them, will be represented as a group, instead of individuals. As many traffickers victimize more than a single individual, this is a useful precedent for future victims.
The other precedent, a wider interpretation of coersion, is crucial to future protection of victims. To meet the definition of trafficking, it is necessary to prove that the victim(s) were subject to force, fraud or coercion (unless they are minors). While the TVPA widely defines coercion to include "psychological coercion, trickery, and the seizure of documents," this is the first case to apply and accept these more subtle definitions.
This is wonderful news for the victims of trafficking, and those who work to end human trafficking in our world. Hallelujah!
To read the full article from the Southern Poverty Law Center regarding the case, please click here. Find further resources from the Justice Commission's Anti Human Trafficking Working Group.
-Elizabeth Fairbairn, St. Joseph Worker & Justice Office Intern
