The Current

Today, Secretary of State John Kerry released the 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), a diplomatic tool used to fight human trafficking around the world.

Read our response to this year's report here.

The release of this report presents a great opportunity for anti-slavery advocates across the country to take action!

Use this opportunity to educate your community about the realities of human trafficking—and what can be done to stop it. The End Modern Slavery Initiative Act of 2015 will make a big difference in the fight for freedom. A Letter to the Editor is typically written in response to an event recently covered in the newspaper. Many papers will cover the launch of the 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report, and this is a great opportunity to respond. Policy makers pay attention to Letters to the Editor—one of the most read sections of the paper—so they are an important advocacy tool. 

You can use or edit the draft text below and follow these simple instructions to submit your own Letter to the Editor today! Let us know if you submit one—and if it’s published!—by emailing JusticeCampaigns@ijm.org.

Instructions for submitting your Letter to the Editor:

1.       Look up your local newspaper’s website or call to find the email address for submitting Letters to the Editor.

2.      If your paper has covered the TIP Report release or a related topic, start your letter with the following format: “Your article, ‘TITLE, by AUTHOR, on DATE…”

3.      Feel free to rely on the draft text below. If you have time, add a line or two to personalize it. Keep the overall length to 150-200 words.

4.      Include your name, title/affiliation (if relevant), and contact information.

5.      Find out whether your members of Congress have co-sponsored the End Modern Slavery Initiative Act (S. 553, EMSI), and make a note:

Cosponsors of the EMSI

Important Tip: Speed is (almost) everything! Editors receive hundreds of letters every day. Often deciding which ones to print boils down to timing. Responding to a news story the same day it was printed will greatly increase your chance of getting published.

Draft text:

To the editor:

On ______, _____, 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry released the 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report, which ranks 188 countries on their efforts to combat human trafficking, including the United States. The TIP Report is the world’s “gold standard” for information on the global crime of modern day slavery.

The report shows a desperate need for more international assistance to free children, women and men from enslavement and to prosecute and punish those who exploited and abused them. There is a bipartisan initiative in Congress that would provide increased U.S. foreign aid through a public-private partnership, the End Modern Slavery Initiative. The Fund will receive funds from other government donors, as well. 

I’m pleased that [SENATOR NAME] has already co-sponsored EMSI, S.553. 

[OR]

I strongly support the End Modern Slavery Initiative, and I hope our entire [STATE] delegation will co-sponsor this bill and push for its passage.

After writing your Letter to the Editor, keep sharing!

Reach out directly to your senators on social media. Twitter is one of the quickest and most direct ways to fill your member of Congress in on current events and issues that matter to you. With just a few words, you can use this breaking news event to grab the attention of your member and share your passion to end slavery. Tweet to them and ask them to support efforts to end slavery around the world.

Click here to find your state and the twitter handles of your members of Congress.

Below are a few sample tweets that you can use: 

Today @JTIP_State released their annual report showing what still needs to be done [HANDLE OF MOC] will you cosponsor S.553 #endslaveryact

More must be done to #endslavery as shown in @JTIP_State report released today. [HANDLE OF MOC] will you cosponsor S.553? #endslaveryact

Together we can end slavery. @JTIP_State report released today highlights the need. [HANDLE OF MOC] will you cosponsor S.553? #endslaveryact

I want to see an end to slavery in my lifetime. @JTIP_State report shows what still needs to be done. [HANDLE OF MOC] please cosponsor S.553