HUMAN TRAFFICKING: MODERN-DAY SLAVERY IN NEED OF A MODERN-DAY SOLUTION

Awareness of trafficking in persons has recently grown as a result of activists’ efforts, increased media attention and legislative action from governments. Despite the increased awareness, human trafficking remains an issue that scholars, activists, politicians and the media agree has not been solved. This thesis examines various policy responses to the growing problem of human trafficking and the political barriers that have prevented these policies from adequately addressing the problem. The first chapter explores trafficking policy in the U.S. and why it has failed to keep pace with the problem. This chapter examines the current human trafficking policy framework in the United States, the history of that policy, and how it has changed over time. This case study reveals that partisan politics have played a prominent role in preventing human trafficking policy from focusing on the root causes and solutions to trafficking in the U.S. Human trafficking is not a problem unique to the United States, so it is necessary to examine how another country addresses trafficking from a legislative standpoint. The second chapter explores what role the international community and the media have played in potentially restricting Canadian human trafficking policy. A review of media sources is conducted that reveals Canadian media has had a role in inflating the issue of trafficking and causing moral panics that lead to inadequate policy responses. This paper also examines the role that international pressures have played in the creation of Canada’s anti-trafficking legislation, revealing that pressures from the U.S. have caused Canada to emphasize aspects of the human trafficking problem that were not important to Canada. This has led to legislation that does not properly address the trafficking issue within Canada’s own borders. The third chapter examines the leadership on human trafficking policy and why the U.S. has come to lead the international community in addressing the problem, despite its political barriers. This chapter suggests what the most appropriate role for the U.S. might be in the international efforts to combat trafficking, and how the country can overcome the barriers that have prevented it from fully addressing the issue at both a national and international level