2022 TIP Report Heroes | A Multi-Regional Project

In July of 2022, Meridian International Center had the honor of partnering with the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to host the 2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report Heroes. During their visit to the United States, the 2022 TIP Report Heroes had the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and share best practices from the field with their U.S. counterparts.

Beginning in Washington, DC, the TIP Report Heroes participated in tailored U.S. Department of State briefings to learn more about American efforts to monitor and combat trafficking in persons both at home and abroad. This was followed by the opportunity to meet with U.S. Representative Chris Smith (NJ-4), who is well known for his bipartisan work crafting anti-human trafficking legislation. He described the inspiration for his work and recent legislative work such as The International Megan's Law and funding to help victims of trafficking.

The Heroes then had the opportunity to connect with the Department of Homeland Security to learn about their Blue Campaign and efforts within their Center for Countering Human Trafficking. Their first week in DC finished with a meeting with Polaris, where they were welcomed by CEO Catherine Chen and toured their center.

After DC, the Heroes traveled to Philadelphia, PA for a day of programming focused on local NGOs and public private partnerships to counter human trafficking. First, they met with the Salvation Army's New Day to Stop Trafficking Program, a public private partnership that heads Philadelphia's Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force. They also gathered with representatives from the Chester County Sherriff's Office to learn about their collaboration with various organizations to counter human trafficking.

 

After the weekend in Philadelphia, the Heroes returned to Washington, DC to receive their official designation from Secretary Antony Blinken. First, they had the opportunity to meet with experts from the McCain Institute for International Leadership to learn about their work managing programs and advocating for solutions to prevent and end modern day slavery. They were then joined at Meridian by the counterparts they had met throughout their time in DC for a hosted lunch.

On Tuesday, July 19th, the time arrived for Secretary Blinken to honor the Heroes at the annual TIP Report Rollout at the Department of State. This was followed by a Livestream event hosted at Meridian that allowed a few of the Heroes to share their stories and inspiration for combatting human trafficking. Both can be watched below.

Following their second stay in DC, the Heroes completed their IVLP journey in Reno, Nevada. While there, they first engaged in a panel discussion with a number of local organizations, the FBI, and a local expert on human trafficking. These included Nevada Urban Indians and Safe Embrace, which both provide support to survivors and members of underserved communities. The Heroes also met with the National Council of Judges and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) to discuss their role in providing practice-based resources to jurisdictions and communities nationwide. The experience concluded with a traditional home hospitality where the group was able to engage with local residents of Reno for an informal dinner.

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