The Current

It can be easy to let ourselves think that human trafficking is solely an international problem, but reports like the one released by Polaris remind us that human trafficking is very much a problem right here in the United States as well. This is all of our fight, and it is critical that we have the information and data we need so that we can consider the best approaches to stopping human trafficking.

Today, Polaris released their final 2014 state ratings on human trafficking laws. Every year, Polaris rates all 50 states and the District of Columbia on 10 categories of laws that are critical to a basic legal framework that combats human trafficking, punishes traffickers and supports survivors.

Key findings from this year's report include:

• 37 states passed new laws to fight human trafficking in the past year
• As of July 31, 2014, 39 states are now rated in Tier 1 (7+ points), up from 32 states in 2013
• 12 states have failed to make minimal efforts to pass laws that support victims.
• Delaware, New Jersey, and Washington have perfect scores, meaning they have laws fulfilling all 10 categories
• 5 states were most improved this year: Delaware, New Hampshire, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Utah

Read the report below (also accessible here), and find your home state's rankings here.