January isn’t just the start of a new year. Instead, it’s National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, a time to spotlight one of the most pervasive human rights violations of our era. Human trafficking and child exploitation don’t stay hidden in headlines. Instead, they devastate families, shatter childhoods, and leave lifelong scars on survivors.
This year, momentum for stronger legal protections is building. Most recently, Representative Mark Harris’ Child Predators Accountability Act of 2025 passed the U.S. House of Representatives. It now heads to the Senate for consideration. This signals a broader legislative effort to close dangerous legal loopholes and strengthen justice for victims.
At Andreozzi + Foote, we’re watching these developments closely because legal reform matters, but so does meaningful accountability and survivor support.
What Is Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation?
Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to exploit a person for labor or commercial sex. Whether it happens through deceptive recruitment, confinement, or manipulation, trafficking strips people of autonomy and dignity.
Sex trafficking is one of its most visible and horrifying forms. However, trafficking also includes forced labor in agriculture, factories, domestic work, and more. Regardless of form, trafficking is based on exploitation and power imbalance.
Child exploitation, a subset of these abuses, often overlaps with trafficking. Victims may be coerced into sexual activity, held in pornography rings, or trafficked across state or even national borders. These crimes inflict deep psychological, physical, and emotional harm.
How the Child Predators Accountability Act of 2025 Changes the Game
The bipartisan Child Predators Accountability Act of 2025, championed by Representative Harris, is designed to strengthen federal law targeting those who exploit children. Notably:
- It clarifies that any video intentionally depicting a minor in a sexually exploitative context is punishable as child exploitation, even if the minor is not shown performing a sexual act.
- Offenders under the revised definition would face a minimum 15-year federal prison sentence.
This closes a troubling loophole prosecutors have encountered. In such cases, videos showing minors without explicit conduct were difficult to prosecute. Still, they contribute to trafficking ecosystems and normalize exploitation.
Why This Matters Beyond Legislation
Laws like the Child Predators Accountability Act are a step forward. Still, they are just one part of a larger battle. Human trafficking and child sexual exploitation continue to flourish online and in hidden corners of communities. Also, survivors often face immense barriers to safety and healing.
Survivors experience a range of harm:
- Long-term psychological trauma, including PTSD and anxiety
- Physical injuries and health complications
- Economic instability and housing insecurity
- Criminalization instead of care when systems fail
Crucially, trafficking isn’t just a criminal law issue it’s a human rights crisis. And survivors deserve both criminal accountability for offenders and civil remedies that recognize the full scope of harm done.
How Civil Lawsuits Can Complement Legal Reform
At Andreozzi + Foote, we stand with survivors not just in courtrooms but in real lives. Civil litigation plays a distinct and vital role in justice:
- It holds institutions accountable, from hospitality chains that ignored exploitation indicators to platforms that facilitated abuse.
- It compensates survivors for losses that criminal cases don’t address, including emotional harm, lost wages, and lifelong care needs.
- It forces systemic change so future victims are protected.
Our work, highlighted throughout victimscivilattorneys.com, focuses on these civil justice pathways for survivors of human trafficking, child exploitation, and sexual abuse.
Help Is Available. You Are Not Alone.
If you or someone you love has been impacted by trafficking or child exploitation, know this: there are resources, legal protections, and people who care. You don’t have to navigate this alone.
Whether through legislative advocacy or legal action, Andreozzi + Foote is committed to standing beside survivors not just during National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Instead, they stand with them every day.
If you’re seeking support or want to explore your rights, we’re here to help. 866-753-5458