New Zealand being downgraded in a global ranking for our response to trafficking is no surprise to an anti-trafficking coalition, but still an international embarrassment. The annual US Trafficking in Persons report issued by the US State Department reviews human trafficking in each country and assesses the steps being taken to combat it. The report found that the New Zealand Government "does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking" and the government's efforts to address the issues were not serious or sustained. Subsequently, New Zealand was downgraded from Tier 1 to Tier 2. Meanwhile last month, a petition with 37,000 signatures was delivered to parliament, calling for New Zealand to establish a Modern Slavery Act. The Human Trafficking Research Coalition says New Zealand is an outlier by not having legislation that protects against slavery or requires businesses to find out and disclose whether their products support modern slavery.Becky Kingi is the coalition's spokesperson and the acting head of advocacy at World Vision.
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