May 12, 2015. The Hon. John Boehner. The Hon. Nancy Pelosi. Speaker. Minority Leader. U.S. House of Representatives. U.S
May 12, 2015 The Hon. John Boehner The Hon. Nancy Pelosi Speaker Minority Leader U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515 Dear Mr. Speaker and Leader Pelosi: The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence (NTF), a coalition of thousands of victim advocacy organizations that serve millions of victims of sexual and domestic violence, writes to ask you to move forward on S. 178, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (JVTA), which recently passed in the Senate, 99-‐0. Trafficking is a terrible crime that affects adults and children. According to CIA estimates, as many as 15,000 to 17,500 men, women and children are trafficked into the United States every year.1 Trafficking forces minors into sexual slavery: it is estimated that there are approximately 293,000 American children at risk of commercial sexual exploitation today. The majority of them are girls, with the average age of entry into sexual exploitation being between just 12 and 14 years old.2 The JVTA responds to these victims with support from fines collected from the persons who create the market for the sexual exploitation of trafficked women and children. Another reason we ask you to take up S. 178 is Title IV of this bill, the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act. This is a much-‐needed protection for victims who choose to raise children conceived through rape. A rapist pursuing parental or custody rights causes the survivor to have continued interaction with the rapist, which can have traumatic psychological effects on the survivor, and can make it more difficult for her to recover. These traumatic effects on the mother can severely negatively impact her ability to raise a healthy child. Rapists may use the threat of pursuing custody or parental rights to coerce survivors into not prosecuting rape, or otherwise harass, intimidate, or manipulate them. We support the organizations that stand at the front lines providing assistance for victims of trafficking and rape. We know that the Senate version of the JVTA would provide crucial resources and protections for survivors of these crimes. We urge you to move quickly to take up and pass S. 178. Thank you. The Member Organizations of the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence
1 Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, http://www.castla.org/key-‐stats. 2 Right4girls, http://rights4girls.org/issue-‐areas/?issue=trafficking-‐of-‐girls.