A Global Response to the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and the Annual Trafficking in Person's Report (TIP) of 2006.

Introduction In this age of growing global independence and democracy, it seems unbelievable that slavery, bondage, and trafficking of human beings could exist at all, much less on the scale that it does. Not only does it exist, but also it appears to be growing at an alarming rate. Due to the clandestine nature of this crime, accurate statistics are hard to obtain, but according to best estimates from several sources, between one and two million people are trafficked worldwide making it the third most lucrative illegal activity in the world behind the narcotics trade and fast approaching the arms trade. Some experts say that it has already surpassed the arms trade. (2)