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Social Policy, And Explain How This Policy Essay

¶ … social policy, and explain how this policy impacts individuals and communities. Then explain whether you believe this social policy is for the betterment of individuals and communities. Be specific, and support your answer. Social policy: Human trafficking

The United States has passed laws at the federal and state levels specifically designed to protect the victims of human trafficking. Persons who are victims can obtain a trafficking visa known as a T. visa, which allows them to remain in the U.S., along with certain specific family members, for up to three years. While holding the T. visa the victim can obtain legal employment and then apply for permanent residency at the end of three years. However, a requirement to obtain the visa is that the victim must comply with "reasonable requests for assistance in the investigation or prosecution of acts of trafficking" (Dovydaitis 2011). Although this sounds relatively modest,...

The law also stipulates that to obtain the T. visa, the victim must "be likely to suffer extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm upon removal," which can also be difficult to conclusively establish (Siskin & Wyler 2010: 25).
The U.S. defines its anti-trafficking approach as one of prevention, protection, and prosecution. "Prevention programs have combined public awareness and education campaigns with education and employment opportunities for those at risk of trafficking, particularly women (Siskin & Wyler 2010: 9). Federal agencies spend an estimated $686 million on international anti-TIP (Trafficking in Persons) assistance over the course of a fiscal year (Siskin & Wyler 2010: 8). Critics, however, contend that insufficient time is…

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The U.S. defines its anti-trafficking approach as one of prevention, protection, and prosecution. "Prevention programs have combined public awareness and education campaigns with education and employment opportunities for those at risk of trafficking, particularly women (Siskin & Wyler 2010: 9). Federal agencies spend an estimated $686 million on international anti-TIP (Trafficking in Persons) assistance over the course of a fiscal year (Siskin & Wyler 2010: 8). Critics, however, contend that insufficient time is spent on the three Rs of "rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration" of victims (Siskin & Wyler 2010: 8). Victims are frightened to come forward, and proactive action must be taken to ensure that they are rescued from their living situations. The laws may not protect them adequately if they fall into a 'grey' area of what constitutes trafficking -- they may have come willingly to the U.S. As illegal aliens, but were lured under false pretences, and found themselves victimized afterward. Although it is tempting to ask 'why doesn't she leave' when a victim goes home to her captor day after day, women perceive themselves as having few options and resources. It is the agencies in charge of policing trafficking that must be aggressive in enforcing the law, and they cannot assume that the victims will 'come to them.'

Fighting human trafficking must also take place globally, not simply locally. Both 'feeder' nations as well as more affluent host nations must be coordinated in their efforts to break down the transportation lines and the barriers of fear and silence that allow trafficking to take place. Despite the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and its subsequent reauthorizations in the United States, the evidence suggests that worldwide enforcement of trafficking laws is not improving. "The number of prosecutions reported per year worldwide against TIP offenders has declined on average 5.6% per year since 2003 The decline in prosecutions in South and Central Asia has been particularly notable, dropping on average 18.8% per year from a high of 2,805 prosecutions in 2003 to 644 in 2008" (Siskin & Wyler 2010: 11).

The U.S. has made important strides in passing legislation to fight trafficking on the federal level,
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