[…] A little more then seven years ago, a bipartisan coalition in Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. That Act gave us several important new tools in the fight against human trafficking. Equally important, it was the sign of a shift in the government’s approach to this appalling crime, to a model that treats victims as victims, and puts them front and center, in enforcement, in prevention, and in the restoration of their rights.

[…] On October 19, 2007, at a Public Session of the anti-trafficking Training Seminar organized by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See and the Italian Union of Major Superiors (USMI), the creation of the International Network of Religious Against Trafficking in Persons (INRATIP) was announced. The network is unique – the first-ever international religious anti-trafficking network.

[…] More than 30 nuns from 26 nations came together to launch the "International Network of Religious Against Trafficking in Persons" (INRATIP) at a recent Training Seminar sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP), and organized by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See and the Italian Union of Major Superiors (USMI). The creation of the network – the first ever international, inter-congregational religious anti-TIP network – was announced at a Public Session held on Friday, October 19, in Rome, Italy.

[…] “There is a growing movement of trafficking for labor,” according to Mark Taylor, the senior coordinator for the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The global value of trafficked labor is estimated at $9.5 billion, he said. Taylor spoke July 19 at the State Department during a three-day conference called “Defending the Defenders,” designed for government and nongovernmental organization personnel dealing with issues on democracy, human rights and labor.

[…] U.S. efforts to raise awareness of trafficking in persons are paying off, and now millions more people know about the global problem, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In introducing the State Department’s seventh annual Trafficking in Persons Report on June 12, Rice said human trafficking until recently was “akin to a global family secret. It was known but not often discussed publicly.” Rice said that in her travels around the world, she has noticed “a greater desire by our partners to fight this crime and protect its victims.”

[…] According to the U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, human trafficking involves forced or coercive methods of transporting individuals, including children, for purposes that include sexual exploitation and forced labor. Trafficking victims, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, have “either never consented or, if they initially consented, that consent has been rendered meaningless by the coercive, deceptive or abusive actions of the traffickers.”

[…] State’s Summer of Anti-Trafficking in Persons Movies outreach program coincides with the June 12 release of the department’s 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report. The annual report is intended to highlight the growing efforts of the international community to combat human trafficking and to encourage foreign governments to take effective actions to counter all forms of trafficking in persons. The screenings of the films will take place exclusively through the auspices of the U.S. embassies and consulates.

[…] Nearly 30 years ago, when activist Kailash Satyarthi began rescuing children who were bonded laborers in India, he had little company.
“Child labor was a non-issue,” he told USINFO. “Now we see thousands of organizations are dedicated, very genuinely working to eradicate child labor.” His efforts sparked young people, businesses and governments to cooperate in eradicating a practice that robs a child of well-being and a future.

[…] International cooperation is absolutely essential to combat these crimes, say U.S. authorities. Sexually explicit images of children are easily distributed across international boundaries through the Internet. Similarly, child-sex trafficking -- including the victimization of children through prostitution and sex tourism -- often involves international travel, with offenders having different nationalities from those of the victims, so international teamwork is considered crucial.