The
Polaris Project, based in Washington D.C., is an organization which exists to see an end to modern day slavery. "
By successfully pushing for stronger federal and state laws, operating the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline (1-888-373-7888), conducting trainings, and providing vital services to victims of trafficking, Polaris Project creates long-term solutions that move our society closer to a world without slavery."
Each year, the Polaris Project ranks every state in the U.S. according to the "
presence or absence of 10 categories of state statutes that Polaris Project believes are critical to a comprehensive anti-trafficking legal framework." One thing to note is that although these state rankings are a decent gauge for how effective a state is at combating trafficking, it is
not a comprehensive representation of all legislation concerning human trafficking in that given state.
States are sorted into four tiers (1-4). Tier 1 consists of states which have met 7 or more of the 10 categories. Tier 2 contains states which have met 5-6 criteria, Tier 3 is 3-4, and Tier 4 is anywhere from 0-2. Of the 50 states reviewed this year, 39 have made progress in passing legislation concerning human trafficking and 32 of these are now in Tier 1. South Dakota is the only state remaining in the lowest level having only met two of the ten categories.
The four most improved states this past year were Arkansas, Wyoming, New Jersey, and Mississippi (all of which are Tier 1 states with the exception of Wyoming). Over the past three years, the people have made it clear to their elected officials that this gross injustice against humanity will not be tolerated. Hopefully this trend will continue and the 2014 State Ranking map will be all orange and green.
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