The U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking comprises 11 Survivor Leaders who bring their expertise and experience to advise and provide recommendations to the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) to improve federal anti-trafficking policies.
The Council was established on May 29, 2015, in section 115 of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, Pub. L. 114-22, also known as the Survivors of Human Trafficking Empowerment Act. In December 2019, June 2020, and January 2021, the President appointed members of the Council to:
- Provide advice and recommendations to the U.S. government, specifically the Senior Policy Operating Group (SPOG) and the PITF [1], to strengthen federal policy and programming efforts that reflect best practices in the anti-trafficking field.
- Review federal U.S. government policy and programs intended to combat human trafficking, including programs relating to the provision of services for victims.
- Gather information from U.S. government agencies, states, and the community for the Council’s annual report.
- Publish an annual report that contains the findings derived from reviews conducted of federal government policy and programs.
- Serve as a point of contact for federal agencies reaching out to human trafficking survivors for input on anti-trafficking programming and policies in the United States.
- Represent the diverse population of human trafficking survivors across the United States.
- The Council brings expertise from members’ personal experiences of human trafficking as well as members’ ongoing work and leadership in various national, state, and local anti-trafficking efforts. Information about each Council member is provided on pages 4 and 5.