The Protection Project is a legal human rights research institute based at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. The project documents and disseminates information about the scope of the problem of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, with a focus on national and international laws, case law, and implications of trafficking on U.S. and international foreign policy.
The Protection Project has collected the criminal laws concerning trafficking for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation from over 190 countries. The project has analyzed these laws and their adequacy in addressing the various issues of trafficking in persons, including the prevention of trafficking acts and the protection of trafficking victims. The project has also documented the immigration laws for the purpose of examining the immigration status of and the assistance provided to victims of trafficking. Among the final products of the Protection Project are: 1. A Comprehensive Database. The database includes: - Law Collection. The Protection Project has collected international conventions as well as domestic legislation that address issues of trafficking in persons. These laws are located in our database and have been translated into English.
- Comprehensive Legal Charts. These charts compare the laws on trafficking for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and document penalties imposed in each country.
- Maps. A set of maps delineates legislative approaches and, to the extent that they can be documented, national and international trafficking routes, military bases (foreign and national), and other related information.
- Survivor Stories. Over 50 testimonies of trafficking survivors have been collected and organized in the database.
- Daily Press. Daily updates on the status of trafficking arrests, prosecutions and convictions around the world as well as up-to-the-minute news stories taken from a comprehensive survey of the world press. A comprehensive list of resources related to trafficking. These resources include transcripts of all Seminar Series presentations as well as recent reports on trafficking related issues from US and international organizations.
- Custom map generating capability. This capability enables users to generate custom maps linking different countries depending on their research needs and interests.
2. The Annual Human Rights Report on the Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. This report includes a summary of laws and the scope of the trafficking problem in over 190 countries. The first edition was published in March 2001. The second edition includes additional information on the evidentiary requirements to prove a trafficking case, the immigration status of the trafficked person, victim assistance, witness protection, forced labor, anticorruption, money laundering, extradition, bilateral treaties, and international conventions. The second edition also includes updated information on the scope of the trafficking problem and related activities, including domestic service, alien smuggling, exploitation of refugee women and girls, prostitution and the military, intercountry adoptions, forced marriages, mail-order brides, child labor, sexually transmitted diseases, and sex tourism.
3. Law Enforcement Survey. The Protection Project has developed a three-phase survey that addresses the effects of immigration law, anticorruption law, and money-laundering law on trafficking in persons, as well as police investigations and court procedures. The purpose of the survey is to gather information about the practical application of the laws and to measure the extent to which law enforcement officials effectively implement them. The survey obtains a detailed country-by-country report of law-enforcement responses to the problem of trafficking in persons. 4. Model Legislation. The Protection Project drafts model legislation that can be adopted by countries that wish to improve or strengthen their laws regarding trafficking in persons. The model legislation shifts the focus from criminalizing the behavior of the trafficked person to protecting victims of trafficking. It also provides a more enhanced punishment for traffickers. The model legislation provides a comprehensive approach to trafficking that addresses the issues of witness protection, the trafficking victim's rights to civil compensation and victim assistance, the appropriate immigration status to be granted to trafficking victims, preventive measures to combat trafficking, and a proper authority or governing body to implement these measures. The model legislation provides for extraterritorial jurisdiction to cover trafficking offenses regardless of where such offenses are committed. It also recognizes trafficking as an extraditable offense. For more information, please contact The Protection Project
Johns Hopkins University-SAIS
1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 515
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-663-5896
Fax: 202-663-5899
Email: Protection_Project@jhu.edu
Web site: http://www.protectionproject.org |
