Notice2022-02537
Request for Information on Conducting Anti-Trafficking Work Using a Racial Equity Lens
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 8, 2022
Issuing agencies
State Department
Abstract
The Department of State, on behalf of the Senior Policy Operating Group (SPOG) (see Background section below for more information on the SPOG), requests written information on how it can advance racial justice and equity to assist in SPOG agencies' individual and the SPOG's collective implementation of Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. This request for information (RFI) is part of the SPOG's ongoing efforts to engage and collaborate with diverse communities and develop an implementation plan for integrating racial equity into U.S. government anti-trafficking efforts. The implementation plan will also highlight the importance of an intersectional approach, as racism often compounds with other forms of discrimination to affect individuals' vulnerability to human trafficking. Additionally, it will complement agencies' individual work to implement Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce by sharing information and practices for increasing diversity in the federal workforce as an integral way to strengthen agencies' anti-trafficking work. Submissions must be made in writing to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the Department of State by March 15, 2022. Please refer to the Addresses, Scope of Interest, and Information Sought sections of this Notice for additional instructions on submission requirements.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 26 (Tuesday, February 8, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7231-7233]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02537]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 11648]
Request for Information on Conducting Anti-Trafficking Work Using
a Racial Equity Lens
AGENCY: Department of State.
ACTION: Request for information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of State, on behalf of the Senior Policy
Operating Group (SPOG) (see Background section below for more
information on the SPOG), requests written information on how it can
advance racial justice and equity to assist in SPOG agencies'
individual and the SPOG's collective implementation of Advancing Racial
Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal
Government. This request for information (RFI) is part of the SPOG's
ongoing efforts to engage and collaborate with diverse communities and
develop an implementation plan for integrating racial equity into U.S.
government anti-trafficking efforts. The implementation plan will also
highlight the importance of an intersectional approach, as racism often
compounds with other forms of discrimination to affect individuals'
vulnerability to human trafficking. Additionally, it will complement
agencies' individual work to implement Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and
Accessibility in the Federal Workforce by sharing information and
practices for increasing diversity in the federal workforce as an
integral way to strengthen agencies' anti-trafficking work. Submissions
must be made in writing to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking
in Persons at the Department of State by March 15, 2022. Please refer
to the Addresses, Scope of Interest, and Information Sought sections of
this Notice for additional instructions on submission requirements.
DATES: Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. EST on March 15, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Written submissions and supporting documentation, such as
research studies, fieldwork, training materials, evaluations,
assessments, and other relevant materials, may be submitted by email
to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#297d6079665c5d5b4c484a41695a5d485d4c074e465f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a7f3eef7e8d2d3d5c2c6c4cfe7d4d3c6d3c289c0c8d1">[email protected]</span></a>
Scope of Interest: The Department of State, on behalf of the SPOG,
requests information relevant to increasing the SPOG agencies'
collective awareness of the intersection between racial equity and U.S.
government anti-trafficking policies and programs and to identify areas
for collaboration and improvement. Because racism often compounds with
other forms of discrimination to increase individuals' vulnerability to
human trafficking, advancing racial equity may also complement
agencies' efforts to improve equity more broadly, for example, in
furtherance of E.O. 14020 (Establishment of the White House Gender
Policy Council), E.O. 13988 (Preventing and Combating Discrimination on
the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation), E.O. 14031
(Advancing Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for Asian Americans, Native
Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders), among other Presidential actions
focused on advancing equity for systemically marginalized communities.
Also, while E.O. 13985 covers both racial equity and support for
underserved communities, this initiative will focus squarely on racial
equity.
Submissions should not exceed 20 pages and should not include any
information that cannot be made publicly available. The submitter may
also include links to online material or interactive presentations but
should ensure all links are publicly available. Attachments, linked
resources, and documents do not count against the 20-page limit.
Submissions should be written concisely, in plain language, and in a
narrative format. Submitters may respond to part or all of the
questions listed in this Notice. However, only those questions for
which the submitter has direct personal or professional experience
should be answered. Submitters should clearly identify the questions to
which they are responding. Where appropriate, submissions should
include citations, references, and/or links to the source material. If
using primary sources, such as research studies, interviews, direct
observations, or other sources of quantitative or qualitative data,
submitters should provide details on the research or data-gathering
methodology and any supporting documentation. Each response should
include, to the extent applicable:
<bullet> The name of the individual(s) and organization responding;
<bullet> A brief description of the mission or area of expertise of
the responding individual(s) or organization(s);
<bullet> The name, phone number, and email address of a single
point of contact for questions or other follow-up on the response; and
<bullet> The question(s) addressed in the submission.
Confidentiality: Submissions will be shared with the U.S.
government agencies that are members of the SPOG and may be made
publicly available. In addition, any information submitted to the
Department of State may be releasable pursuant to the provisions of the
Freedom of Information Act or other applicable law.
Response: The Department of State will confirm receipt of each
submission and may reach out to parties who respond to this RFI with
follow-up questions. The SPOG will continue to engage stakeholders and
community members for the purposes of implementing E.O. 13985 and to
continue improving its efforts.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
E.O. 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved
Communities Through the Federal Government, states the Administration
policy to ``pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for
all, including people of color and others who have been historically
underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty
and inequality'' which involves a whole-of-government approach.
Through this RFI, the SPOG seeks input, information, and
recommendations from a broad array of stakeholders in the public,
private, advocacy, not-for-profit, and philanthropic sectors, including
state, local, tribal, and territorial areas, on available methods,
approaches, and tools to apply a racial equity lens to Federal
government anti-trafficking efforts.
Definitions
This RFI adopts the definition of the term ``equity'' used in E.O.
13985: The consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial
treatment of all individuals,
[[Page 7232]]
including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have
been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and
Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and
other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with
disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise
adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality. Please note
that different definitions of ``equity'' exist, which are complementary
to but may not be identical with the definition in E.O. 13985.
The term ``forced labor'' is defined for U.S. enforcement purposes
in two separate sections of the United States Code. In the criminal
statutes of Title 18, it encompasses the range of activities involved
when an individual or entity uses prohibited means that include force
or physical threats; psychological coercion; abuse of the legal
process; a scheme, plan, or pattern intended to hold a person in fear
of serious harm; or other coercive means to obtain the labor or
services of a person. Once a person's labor is obtained by such means,
the person's previous consent or effort to obtain employment with the
trafficker does not preclude the person from being considered a victim,
or the government from prosecuting the offender. Forced labor in Title
18 also encompasses when an individual or entity knowingly benefits,
financially or by receiving anything of value, from participating in a
venture which has engaged in providing or obtaining labor or services
by prohibited means, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that
the venture has engaged in providing or obtaining labor or services by
such prohibited means. Moreover, Title 18 also prohibits knowingly
recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining by any
means, any person for labor or services in violation of the forced
labor statute, or other U.S. criminal statutes involving slavery,
involuntary servitude, and peonage. In the customs-related statute of
Title 19, it is also defined in connection with the prohibition on the
importation of goods produced wholly or in part by forced labor,
including forced child labor; convict labor; and/or indentured labor
under penal sanctions. In this context, forced labor is defined as:
``all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace
of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not
offer himself voluntarily.'' In addition, Title 22 includes the
following in the definition of ``severe forms of trafficking in
persons'': ``the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or
obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force,
fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary
servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.''
The term ``sex trafficking'' is when a person is caused to engage
in a commercial sex act as the result of force, threats of force,
fraud, coercion, or any combination of such means, or when a person
under the age of 18 is caused to engage in commercial sex. Under such
circumstances, perpetrators involved in recruiting, enticing,
harboring, transporting, providing, obtaining, advertising,
maintaining, patronizing, or soliciting a person for that purpose are
guilty of the federal crime of sex trafficking. This is true even if
the victim previously consented to engage in commercial sex.
U.S. law explicitly includes a distinct definition of ``sex
trafficking of children.'' Any child (under the age of 18) who has been
recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained,
advertised, maintained, patronized, or solicited to engage in a
commercial sex act is a victim of human trafficking, regardless of
whether or not force, fraud, or coercion is used.
The Senior Policy Operating Group (SPOG)
The SPOG is comprised of senior officials designated as
representatives of the 20 federal departments and agencies of the
President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in
Persons, a cabinet-level entity created by the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000, that are responsible for coordinating U.S.
government-wide efforts to combat trafficking in persons. The
Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended in 2003, established the
SPOG. The agencies of the SPOG are the Departments of State, the
Treasury, Defense, Justice, the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor,
Health and Human Services, Transportation, Education, and Homeland
Security, as well as the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of
the U.S. Trade Representative, the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence, the National Security Council, the Domestic Policy
Council, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission. Agencies regularly convene to advance and coordinate
federal policies and collaborate with a range of stakeholders.
Five standing committees meet regularly to advance substantive
areas of the SPOG's work:
<bullet> Research & Data Committee--Facilitates forums and
discussions on human trafficking data and prevalence among agencies,
invites external researchers and experts to share their latest findings
with the Committee, and works to ensure agencies' research efforts are
complementary.
<bullet> Grantmaking Committee--Assists in planning and
coordinating agencies' domestic and international anti-trafficking
program activities and promotes evidence-based programming to build the
knowledge base on human trafficking and propose solutions to enhance
anti-trafficking activities.
<bullet> Public Awareness & Outreach--Serves as a forum for
agencies to seek feedback and buy-in on agency-specific public
awareness and outreach projects or resources, including on how to
ensure a trauma-informed approach, and facilitates information-sharing
on upcoming public awareness and outreach events, campaigns, and
materials to allow for cross-promotion and/or collaboration among
agencies.
<bullet> Victims Services Committee--Supports federal engagements
and efforts that aim to promote a strategic, coordinated approach to
the provision of services for victims of human trafficking at all
levels of government; support evidence-based practices in victim
services; provide and promote outreach, training, and technical
assistance to increase victim identification and expand the
availability of services; and promote effective, culturally
appropriate, trauma-informed services that improve the short- and long-
term health, safety, and well-being of victims.
<bullet> Procurement & Supply Chains--Seeks to ensure agencies
understand their responsibilities under the Federal Acquisition
Regulation (FAR), ``Ending Trafficking in Persons''
(<a href="http://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2015/01/29/2015-01524/federal-acquisition-regulation-ending-trafficking-in-persons">www.federalregister.gov/documents/2015/01/29/2015-01524/federal-acquisition-regulation-ending-trafficking-in-persons</a>); provides a forum
through which agencies can work through challenges related to
strengthening procurement safeguards and supply chain efforts, share
data and promising practices for effective implementation of the FAR,
and ensure efforts are not duplicative and that policies and procedures
are consistent; and works to create a coordinated and collective U.S.
government voice in relation to increasing corporate accountability and
compliance in
[[Page 7233]]
combating forced labor in global supply chains more broadly.
In addition, the SPOG has created a few ad hoc working groups.
Unlike the committees, these working groups are time-limited and formed
to accomplish specific goals. As of the publication of this RFI, the
SPOG has three active ad hoc working groups:
<bullet> Ad Hoc Working Group on Demand Reduction--To examine the
role of demand reduction in preventing human trafficking or otherwise
achieving the purposes of the TVPA and the Justice for Victims of
Trafficking Act (consistent with Sec. 115 of Pub. L. 115-425).
<bullet> Ad Hoc Working Group on Rights and Protections of
Temporary Workers--To analyze and compare the rights and protections
granted to workers of each employment-based nonimmigrant visa category
to identify which categories require additional protections related to
the recruitment and treatment of workers; and to discuss ways to
address any gaps and inconsistencies, including developing and
proposing necessary regulatory or legislative changes (consistent with
Priority Action 1.5.2 of the National Action Plan to Combat Human
Trafficking).
<bullet> Ad Hoc Working Group on Screening Forms and Protocols--To
develop best practices in implementing screening forms and protocols as
relevant for all federal officials who have the potential to encounter
a human trafficking victim in the course of their regular duties that
do not otherwise pertain to human trafficking (consistent with Priority
Action 2.1.1 of the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking).
II. Information Sought Relevant To Conducting Anti-Trafficking Work
Using a Racial Equity Lens
Submissions should include, but need not be limited to, answers to
relevant questions below for which the submitter has direct personal or
professional experience. Please see the Scope of Interest section above
for detailed information regarding submission requirements.
1. What does racial equity mean in the context of human
trafficking? What does a racially equitable anti-trafficking framework
look like, particularly for a law enforcement response and prosecution
response, victim assistance efforts, and prevention strategy? Are there
specific considerations for responding to sex trafficking and to labor
trafficking, including forced labor?
2. Please describe any racial injustice, inequity, or unfairness
you have observed or experienced that resulted from a federal anti-
trafficking activity (please specify the relevant policy, practice, or
program). Do you have recommendations for how this should be corrected?
3. How have federal anti-trafficking policies, programs, and
systems created barriers to advancing racial equity, and how might the
executive branch address and help reduce these barriers?
4. What promising approaches or efforts have been successful in
embedding a racial equity lens in anti-trafficking work? What examples
and/or data are available to support this?
5. What can SPOG agencies individually and the SPOG collectively do
to advance racial equity and integrate it into federal anti-trafficking
work domestically and internationally--particularly in the areas of
investigation and prosecution, victim services (commenters may specify
specific populations, such as people of color, noncitizens, LGBTQ+
persons, etc.), grantmaking, public procurement, supply chains, public
awareness and outreach, research and data collection, and any other
area the submitter feels is important to note?
6. What tools, approaches, or lessons have been applied in other
countries or in U.S. state, territorial, tribal, and local
jurisdictions to address the intersection between racial, ethnic, or
cultural discrimination and human trafficking? Could these tools,
approaches, or lessons applied by other authorities be helpful to the
United States to further racial equity?
7. What are promising practices or strategies for how anti-
trafficking policies and programs can address the compounded barriers
at the intersections of systemic racism and other forms of
discrimination, such as discrimination against persons with
disabilities, LGBTQ+ persons, and women and girls?
8. Meaningful stakeholder engagement includes collective problem-
solving and decision-making, equitable partnerships, and collaboration
that fosters a sharing of power. What processes or approaches should
SPOG agencies have in place to proactively and meaningfully engage
individuals with lived experience of human trafficking and communities
that are most directly impacted by human trafficking? What are tools
and best practices that SPOG agencies should consider to embed racial
equity practices into community and stakeholder engagement?
Zachary A. Parker,
Director, Office of Directives Management, U.S. Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2022-02537 Filed 2-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-11-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 8, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.