Join CPAC in the fight against human trafficking!

Background

The American Conservative Union Foundation - CPAC is a mature and recognized entity that has become the preeminent center-right voice in support of making our communities safer and supporting victims. Our approach is a proven one that can deliver results at the Federal level and in states where we have (1) taken the time to build up our presence; (2) recruited activists and opinion leaders known in the jurisdiction; and (3) established relationships with key elected officials. 

CPAC has long recognized the need to improve efforts to combat the scourge of human trafficking that is facing communities, urban and rural, across this country. Policymakers must do more to draft and pass legislation that addresses the needs of victims of trafficking, provides law enforcement the tools to hold traffickers accountable, and supports cross collaboration between domestic and international partners to ensure modern day slavery is brought to an end. 

CPAC’s Nolan Center for Justice notched some significant wins in the past years in our efforts to improve the broader criminal justice system and support public safety. We do not claim credit for all of these successes. But it is fair to say that CPAC has played a critical role in advancing policies that bolster the safety of communities across this country. Now, we aim to expand those efforts by establishing the CPAC Center for Combating Human Trafficking. This new initiative will leverage the existing resources of our organization to establish a national campaign focused on advancing policies that (1) support victims in reintegrating into society and removing collateral consequences resulting from their abuse; (2) strengthening accountability for traffickers; and (3) improving cross-collaboration between domestic and international entities dedicated to ending human trafficking. 

Our organization will focus on cross-cutting efforts that are designed to develop and implement policies to attract the support of conservatives. This is a critical endeavor, given the number of Federal and state entities that are led by Republicans. If lasting and impactful change is to be made in the fight against human trafficking, conservatives have to be part of that discussion. To accomplish this, our strategic plan includes:

• Advocates in DC and in a number of state capitols – putting “boots on the ground” and using our subject matter expertise and political capital to advance legislation;

• Opinion leaders – providing the ideological framework for conservatives to support criminal justice reforms in correspondence, on talk radio, and in newspaper opinion-editorials;

• Educators – by leveraging our CPAC brand and holding events and panel discussions with conservative leaders and for conservative activists;

• Coalition partners – providing strategy, tactics, and leadership to drive meaningful change;

• Policymakers – leveraging our ACU Ratings to signal to legislators that fixing the system is a priority and holding them publicly accountable when they succeed or fail; and 

• Grassroots activists – by continuing to build our list of supporters and activating them to get legislators to “see the light” on fighting back against trafficking and supporting victims. 

2023-2024 Strategic Plan 

CPAC’s Center for Combating Human Trafficking is looking to expand the organization’s footprint on policy to educate the conservative community on the significant challenges posed by the ongoing human trafficking criminal organizations both at home and abroad. We will focus on advancing legislation that allows victims to break free from abuse while ensuring both those who solicit and perpetrate these crimes are held accountable. This process will include drafting Federal and state legislative proposals that remove collateral consequences for individuals who prove they were forced into criminal activities as a part of their captivity. It will also ensure our law enforcement and community support organizations are properly resourced to identify and remove criminal elements from our communities, while providing a pathway for our international partners to enact similar accountability measures. 

Once these policies are identified, drafted, and established, our decades-long track record supporting conservative principles allows for CPAC to be seen as a friendly thought leader in the space to center-right elected officials, many that represent rural, suburban and urban districts, whose constituents look to our organization for guidance on conservative issues. This can be achieved through the use of paid and earned media, such as TV and Radio interviews, as well as through townhalls and other events in their backyards or at a national level. Our nationwide grassroots footprint and CPAC infrastructure allow us to efficiently and truthfully bring the fight to end trafficking directly to impacted communities. Finally, our legislative ratings team at CPAC can help incentivize lawmakers to learn about and understand the anti-trafficking legislation they will be voting in support of. The ratings team within our non-profit reviews every bill considered by each state legislature and Congress each year and compiles ratings indicating the ideological position of every legislator. Scoring these policy initiatives aimed at thwarting criminal actors and expanding opportunities for victims will allow lawmakers throughout the Country to prove to constituents that public safety is truly their top priority. 

This approach allows for us to act in a multi-faceted way to support the end goal of rooting out traffickers and lifting up victims. Taken together, these four sets of assets – opinion leadership, boots on the ground advocacy, robust grass roots activism, and legislative ratings – are tools that help make our campaigns more effective and results-oriented.

Support from organizations and donors aligned with this fight against modern day slavery will afford us the opportunity to dedicate the staffing and resources needed for such an ambitious effort. We look forward to your consideration in joining CPAC’s Center for Combating Human Trafficking in the fight to end human trafficking.

Join CPAC in the fight against human trafficking!