Lifetime Television was on hand Tuesday as President Bush signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act into law.
Included among the network’s efforts to raise awareness of the issue of modern day slavery and to build momentum for this new legislation to combat it was miniseries Human Trafficking, the highest-rated original movie on basic cable in 2005, which recently earned two Golden Globe nominations for stars Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland.
Lifetime’s Washington efforts kicked off in April, as network representatives joined leading members of Congress, including Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio), as they introduced the End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act, which was later added to the TVPRA, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.).
In the months leading up to Congress’ passage of the bill, Lifetime urged Congress to take action by: airing a series of original public-service announcements; collecting and delivering thousands of signatures from an online petition; sending blast e-mails to its 50,000 “Champions for Change” activists encouraging them to call their representatives and senators; and launching an extensive grassroots public-education initiative, including aviewers’ guide distributed to thousands of people across the country, high-profile screenings in Washington, D.C., and New York, college-campus events and house parties, all developed with a wide range ofanti-human-trafficking advocates and organizations.
“I wrote this law to strengthen and expand the methods available to law enforcement to emancipate the women and children who are forced and coerced into this modern-day slavery,” Smith said in a prepared statement.
“My wife and I were moved to tears by Lifetime Television's extraordinarily accurate portrayal of sex slavery from the eyes of victims and the dedicated law-enforcement agents trying to effectuate their rescue, and Lifetime should be commended for its efforts,” he added.
“When we began working on our miniseries, human trafficking was largely in the shadows,” Lifetime executive vice president of public affairs Meredith Wagner said in a prepared statement. “Our viewers responded to this injustice and wanted to help to take action. We are grateful to the leadership in the House and Senate and to our incredible nonprofit partners, who are making a difference in the lives of trafficked women and children every day.”
