Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act
On April 22nd, after nearly six weeks of delay, the Senate finally passed the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. This bill will provide harsher penalties for perpetrators of trafficking, hold patrons of human trafficking (also known as “johns”), accountable for their crimes, and identify and treat those harmed by trafficking as victims rather than criminals. The bill will also create a special fund for victims gathered from perpetrators’ fines (rather than taxes).
Although many expected the bill to pass unanimously in March, Senate Democrats found a provision that compelled them to withdraw support. This provision included language from the Hyde Amendment, which decrees that taxpayer dollars may not be used to fund abortions, except in cases proven to be rape, and would have been used in this instance to prevent trafficking victims from using money from the special victims fund to pay for abortions. The provisions would not only make it difficult for trafficking victims to receive abortions, but also expand the application of the Hyde Amendment to private funds, creating an obstacle for both victims and those who believe women should have access to abortions as they would to any other health care service. Because of this provision — and because if passed the bill would be upheld for 5 years before undergoing review and revision again — Senate Democrats filibustered to remove it.
Majority leader Mitch McConnell only added to this frustrating process by using Loretta Lynch’s Attorney General nomination, which occurred in November, as leverage to convince Democrats to rethink the filibuster. The vote on Lynch’s confirmation was stalled for 165 days, making it one of the longest delays for a confirmation vote in U.S. history. As President Obama said, this delay was simply “embarrassing.” The day after the Justice for Victims of Trafficking act was passed by the Senate, Lynch was finally confirmed as the United State’s first African American woman Attorney General.
Unfortunately, this victory was not without consequences. Republicans and Democrats came to a disappointing compromise and divided funds for victims’ services into two pools. The first pool would be composed of fines on traffickers (as the bill initially intended) and go toward non-healthcare related services, including legal aid and shelters. The second fund would be collected from funds appropriated by Congress to community health centers already subjected to the Hyde Amendment, and cover health services for victims.
By removing the provision and creating separate funds — one private, one public — this compromise effectively prevents the expansion of the Hyde Amendment. But since health services are paid for by a public fund, the deal still prevents victims from receiving funds for abortions, unless the case is proven to be rape.
This compromise, therefore, is largely meaningless for the victims of trafficking for whom this bill is supposedly intended. The main result of this six week wait is that the Hyde Amendment won’t effect private finds. The bill still does not allow these women to access funds for an essential service and prioritizes private funders over trafficking survivors.
As NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue perfectly explained, “This bill, and the deal reached, are a perfect example of why the so-called Hyde amendment is bad policy and harmful to women. Because of the Hyde amendment, this bill still denies the most vulnerable women necessary access to vital health services.”
Unwanted and unplanned pregnancies are a reality for trafficking victims. These women may not have the psychological or economic stability necessary — not to mention desire — to carry and raise a child after this experience, especially while going through the difficult process of healing. It is imperative that funds are available to victims and can be used to access whatever services are necessary for them to recover from past trauma — yet this bill only inhibits this.
It is upsetting and unfortunate that those in charge could not put aside political and personal values to do what’s best for victims to heal. While efforts made to remove the Hyde Amendment from this bill should be acknowledged and appreciated, the Senate has nevertheless failed to put the interests of the victims before their own. This has resulted in a potentially empowering bill becoming one of many examples of our nation’s continuous attacks on women’s rights and health care.
