Saving Sex-Trafficking Victims

Washington, D.C.

Noy Thrupkaew's two-part series, "The Crusade Against Sex Trafficking" [Oct. 5 and 26], focuses on the work of the International Justice Mission (IJM). Unfortunately, the articles present almost none of the facts or views shared with her in more than twenty hours of interviews conducted with IJM senior staff in three countries. In addition, they contain numerous inaccuracies and mischaracterizations of IJM's work. In the interest of a fair and informed dialogue about sex trafficking, I offer the following clarifications:

§ Today virtually every credible anti-trafficking organization--including UN agencies, NGOs and responsible governments--agrees that engagement with law enforcement is the best and only sustainable way to protect victims and apprehend perpetrators of sex trafficking. Corruption within police forces should not be a reason to deny trafficking victims the enforcement of laws designed to protect them, as the article suggests; it should be a strong argument to train and build capacity (as IJM has done for hundreds of officers around the globe).

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