![\"Trafficking](\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Trafficking-in-Persons-Report-2016-1.jpg\")
<\/center>June 30, 2016<\/em><\/p>\nThe Trafficking in Persons Report, or TIP Report, is an annual report issued by the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. It ranks governments based on the U.S.\u2019 evaluation of their efforts to combat human trafficking.<\/p>\n
Safe Horizon\u2019s Anti-Trafficking Program (ATP) is the largest service provider for survivors of human trafficking on the East Coast. ATP currently gathers insights from these yearly TIP Reports and integrates findings into advocacy efforts to fight human trafficking in and around New York City.<\/p>\n
“If there is a single theme to this year\u2019s 2016 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report<\/em>, it is the conviction that there is nothing inevitable about trafficking in human beings. That conviction is where the process of change really begins\u2014with the realization that just because a certain abuse has taken place in the past doesn\u2019t mean that we have to tolerate that abuse in the future or that we can afford to avert our eyes. Instead, we should be asking ourselves\u2014what if that victim of trafficking was my daughter, son, sister, or brother?”<\/em><\/p>\n “This year\u2019s TIP Report<\/em> asks such questions, because ending modern slavery isn\u2019t just a fight we should attempt\u2014it is a fight we can and must win.” \u2013 John F. Kerry, Secretary of State<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is the U.S. Government\u2019s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. It is also the world\u2019s most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-human trafficking efforts and reflects the U.S. Government\u2019s commitment to global leadership on this key human rights and law enforcement issue. It represents an updated, global look at the nature and scope of trafficking in persons and the broad range of government actions to confront and eliminate it. The U.S. Government uses the TIP Report to engage foreign governments in dialogues to advance anti-trafficking reforms and to combat trafficking and to target resources on prevention, protection and prosecution programs. Worldwide, the report is used by international organizations, foreign governments, and nongovernmental organizations alike as a tool to examine where resources are most needed. Freeing victims, preventing trafficking, and bringing traffickers to justice are the ultimate goals of the report and of the U.S Government’s anti-human trafficking policy.<\/p>\n In the TIP Report, the Department of State places each country onto one of three tiers based on the extent of their governments\u2019 efforts to comply with the \u201cminimum standards for the elimination of trafficking<\/a>\u201d found in Section 108 of the TVPA<\/b><\/a>. While Tier 1 is the highest ranking, it does not mean that a country has no human trafficking problem. On the contrary, a Tier 1 ranking indicates that a government has acknowledged the existence of human trafficking, made efforts to address the problem, and complies with the TVPA\u2019s minimum standards. Each year, governments need to demonstrate appreciable progress in combating trafficking to maintain a Tier 1 ranking.<\/p>\n View the 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Trafficking in Persons Report, or TIP Report, is an annual report issued by the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. It ranks governments based on the US\u2019 evaluation of their efforts to combat human trafficking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":null,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2015],"tags":[133,242],"class_list":["post-2392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-safe-blog","tag-human-trafficking","tag-trafficking-in-persons-report-2016","issue-human-trafficking"],"acf":{"page_header_title":"","page_header_excerpt":"","page_header_image":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/silhouette_hero_image.png","related_initiative_title":"What is human trafficking?","related_initiative_link":"\/get-informed\/human-trafficking-statistics-facts\/","related_initiative_link_text":"Learn the facts","featured_posts":[{"ID":1363,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2015-12-01 00:00:00","post_date_gmt":"2015-12-01 00:00:00","post_content":"
\n![\"John's](\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/johns-human-trafficking-story.png\")
\r\n\r\nJohn was a successful salesman in the Philippines with a master's degree in Business Administration. He wanted to come to the United States to pursue a better life.\r\n\r\nA friend told John about an agency that helps people like them become workers in California. To apply, they were required to pay a large application fee. In order to pay this hefty fee, John arranged a loan that used part of his mother\u2019s ancestral land as collateral. With the loan secured, he applied and headed for America.\r\nUnexpected Trouble<\/h2>\r\nJohn worked hard every day at the various jobs including: being a desk clerk, driving shuttle buses and washing dishes. John knew it would take time to establish himself in a new career in the United States. He looked into filing an extension for his visa. Initially the agency that helped him come to the United States offered help in filing a visa extension. However, they soon stopped answering his calls.\r\n\r\nJohn was terrified his visa would expire and that he would be deported. So he frantically searched the internet for companies who might help. An agency based in Kansas City, Missouri promised they would extend his visa.\r\n\r\nThe agency representatives charged John outrageous fees. They warned him to follow their instructions, or else he would be deported. The agency assigned John along with a group of four others to work in a hotel in Casper, Wyoming.\r\n
The Un-American Dream<\/h2>\r\nIn Casper, he lived in the hotel\u2019s maintenance room and shared it with ten other people. The room had no air conditioning or heat. The bathroom they shared was small and didn\u2019t have hot running water. John worked long and irregular hours. During his working hours, he was routinely exposed to toxic paint fumes. He developed insomnia, severe stress and high blood pressure.\r\n\r\nHe was not fairly paid. When he did get paid there was often a delay and he wasn\u2019t paid for all of the hours he worked. John complained to the management of the hotel and to the agency who had placed him there. The agency would threaten him with the prospect of deportation. One day, he mustered the courage to leave.\r\n
Escaping Modern-Day Slavery<\/h2>\r\nAfter John escaped, he spent three years traveling the country and staying with various friends. To get by, he took several survival jobs to make ends meet.\r\n\r\nDuring a trip to New York City, a friend told him of a law firm who handled human trafficking cases. Although John had already sought help from five different lawyers, he persevered and tried again. Luckily, this law firm understood John\u2019s situation and directed him to a resource that could actually help him find relief; Safe Horizon\u2019s Anti-Trafficking Program (ATP)<\/a>.\r\n\r\nLocated in Brooklyn, ATP provides human trafficking victims from anywhere in the city with comprehensive, supportive resources including:\r\n