Virtual Journal

Human trafficking is an endemic global problem. Estimates reveal that as many as 27 million people are enslaved worldwide.1 According to the most recent data, human trafficking is a $32 billion industry. It is the third most lucrative criminal enterprise, surpassed only by drugs and arms trafficking.2

• 1. See U.S. DEP'T OF STATE, TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 7 (2012), available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/192587.pdf [hereinafter “2012 TIP REPORT”].
• 2. See U.S. DEP'T OF STATE, TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 34 (2008), available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/105501.pdf, which estimated annual profits generated from human trafficking at $32 billion when taking into account “both the sale of the individual and the value of their exploited labor or services.” The 2008 TIP Report also notes that the International Labor Organization (“ILO”) estimates even higher annual profits for human trafficking at the staggering amount of $217.8 billion.

Additional Files: 

IMPOWR_-_Room_for_Improvement.pdf

American women today have more opportunities than many women around the world. We hear this all the time. Then comes the “but.”

American women make less money than men. Wives and mothers are overly burdened with childrearing and domestic chores. The so-called “glass ceiling” is still firmly in place, particularly in the political arena. Those few female political candidates of any party, who are able to garner the required vast sums of money to run for office in this country, also must face sexist remarks from their male counterparts and the influential media. Women’s right to make medical decisions surrounding their reproduction atavistically is becoming more restricted, even to the point of putting women at risk. And it is well entrenched in American jurisprudence that women can be prevented from taking leadership jobs in religious institutions – based solely on their gender.

Additional Files: 

IMPOWR- Gender Equality Attempts Through the Decades.pdf

Money in politics plays a critical role in an election’s integrity and fairness (perceived and real), as well as post-election governmental ethics.1 Political finance – alternatively referred to as campaign or electoral finance – is therefore a crucial aspect to a democracy’s ability to thrive.2 A campaign finance law can improve the ability to elect a representative democracy,’3 thereby improving the overall quality of the electoral process.

Among the public policy goals advanced by electoral financing statutory schemes are increased disclosure of contributions and expenditures to curb against corrupt practices, and spending caps to “even the playing field” by candidates who don’t have personal wealth.4

• 1. Magnus Öhman et al., Political Finance Regulation: The Global Experience 13 (Magnus Öhman & Hani Zainulbhai eds., Int’l Found. for Electoral Systems 2009).
• 2. Id.
• 3. Jarrett Blanc et al., Challenging the Norms and Standards of Election Administration 76 (Int’l Found. for Electoral Systems ed., 2007).
• 4. Id. at 75-93.

Additional Files: 

Campaign Finance Laws and Gender Disparity in Elections (PDF version)

In June 2010, the U.S. Department of State released its tenth annual edition of the Trafficking in Persons Report (the “TIP Report”). The TIP Report is comprehensive; it includes the definition of trafficking, relevant international conventions, country narratives, and individual stories. The TIP Report highlights trafficking in persons as a human rights issue and views this issue as related to fundamental rights of civil liberties.

The TIP Report can be found at http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2010/

Fact sheet: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/scp/fs/2010/143115.htm

Additional Files: 

Trafficking Across the Globe: A Summary on U.S. Policy (PDF version)