The Uniform Act on Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking

Almost 15 years after Congress passed the first contemporary anti-slavery legislation, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, state anti-trafficking law and policy still lag far behind their federal counterparts in terms of prosecuting traffickers, protecting victims, and preventing trafficking. Regrettably, Arizona provides an ample case study in these inadequacies, from its prosecution of sex trafficking victims for prostitution to its inadequate victim assistance mechanisms. This Note maintains that the war on human trafficking will be won or lost at the state level. After a detailed analysis of federal and state law and policy, this Note argues that the Uniform Law Commission’s new Uniform Act on Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking provides states with a solid blueprint for comprehensive anti-trafficking reform. States should adopt the Uniform Act in its entirety, without delay, because nobody should be enslaved in the Land of the Free.