Human Trafficking and Confidentiality Toolkit
Confidentiality and Privacy for OVC Funded Human Trafficking Programs
This toolkit is meant to help anti-trafficking service providers implement policies and practices to protect confidentiality.
The resources below are intended for anti-trafficking direct service providers receiving funding by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) looking to meet the confidentiality conditions of their funding. As of Fiscal Year, 2024, OVC requires human trafficking grantees to have or actively work to establish practices that follow the confidentiality conditions under the Violence Against Women Act, commonly referred to as the “VAWA Confidentiality Provision.” Regardless of funding conditions, any direct service provider can adopt these privacy measures as a best practice for serving their program participants.
For clarity and consistency, we will primarily use the term “program participant,” to refer to those who have received, currently receive, or have requested anti-trafficking services. These rights to confidentiality apply whether or not those services were received. The term “victim” may be used to refer to program participants when referencing legal or funding language. We recognize that participants and programs may prefer other terms. These may include “survivor” or “client.”
