If you’ve been following my activist posts here at 360 Blog, you already know that the cause I support most is human trafficking. It boggles my mind that human slavery is not only still alive, but that the buying and selling of people as slaves is one of the top two industries in the world. I still can’t believe that people don’t know about it—though many more know about it now than they did a decade ago, which is progress.

Right now, fifteen senators are officially sponsoring the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, a piece of legislation that will extend this act for another three years. The act is so important when it comes to human trafficking because it sets a minimum standard and an example for the world to follow when it comes to fighting human trafficking. It might just be the basics—the monitoring of trafficking, annual reports on the crime, and visa protection for trafficking victims—but it’s something that we have to keep and uphold as the backbone for further action against trafficking.

Another wonderful thing about this bill is that it expands the current legislation, adding child protection compacts, tech assistance for countries needing it with trafficking occurrences, establishing specialists in anti-trafficking in the government, emergency response provisions, and more. This is such heartening information to hear, as if we are finally taking this worldwide horror seriously.

Please contact your Congress member and ask that he or she sponsor the bill, too. You can easily contact him or her here by entering your address and finding his or her contact information. If you need more information before calling, you can visit Free the Slaves, one of the best anti-human trafficking organizations out there, or use the sample script they have provided (see below). Whatever you opt to do, be sure to include your name, that you are a voter, and that you support this bill. Include the bill name and number (provided in the script). If you choose to alter your message, it may be even more powerful—just be sure to keep it respectful. We catch more flies with honey!

Also, if you want to zip an email over to your legislator—whether you’re too shy to call or if you just want to get both the email and a call for double the impact—you can find his or her email information at the link above, too. Just remember that calls have statistically proven to be more effective.

Script:

“My name is ___ and I live in your district. I’m calling to ask the congressman/congresswoman to co-sponsor H.R.2830, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). I also want to ask him/her to strengthen the act, by requiring major companies to disclose on their websites and in annual reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission what they’re doing to end trafficking and slavery. The congressman/congresswoman can do this by including provisions of H.R.2759, the Business Transparency on Slavery and Trafficking Act, into the TVPRA.”