A Comparative Case Study of Human Trafficking Task Forces in Washington and Oregon and Preferences in Victim Assistance

Graduation date: 2013The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) Human Trafficking Task Forces bring together federal, state, and municipal governmental agencies and law enforcement agencies (“agencies”), and non-profit organizations and other service providers (“organizations”), for one main purpose: to reduce the trafficking of humans in the United States. The Task Forces are critical tools that implement victim protections of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (“TVPA 2000”) and Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Acts (“TVPRAs”).\ud \ud In this comparative case study, I examine the BJA/OVC Human Trafficking Task Forces in Washington and Oregon from 2010 to 2013. I use the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to explain how the organizational factors and beliefs of these two Task Forces influence the ways in which they provide anti-human trafficking resources and assistance. I also examine how, under some circumstances, these organizational factors and beliefs lead to an underserving of victims of labor trafficking relative to victims of commercialized sex trafficking.\ud \ud I conclude with policy recommendations for the BJA/OVC Human Trafficking Task Forces in Washington and Oregon in light of the roll out of plans for the next iteration of TVPRA as part of the Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking in 2013