The U.S. State Department's 9th annual Trafficking in Persons report states, "the TIP Report is the most comprehensive worldwide report on governments’ efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons. It includes countries of origin, transit, or destination for trafficking victims. It represents an updated, global look at the nature and scope of trafficking in persons and the broad range of government actions to confront and eliminate it.
The 2009 TIP Report covers the period of April 2008 through March 2009. During this time and since the passage of the TVPA, the fight against trafficking passed an important milestone, as more than half of the world’s countries have enacted criminal legislation prohibiting all forms of trafficking in persons. Over the last year alone, 26 countries enacted new anti-trafficking legislation, some going beyond the minimum standards of the TVPA and the 2000 UN TIP Protocol by offering the victims of trafficking restitution through court proceedings and other protections.
The last year was marked also by the onset of a global financial crisis, which has raised
the specter of increased human trafficking around the world. As a result of the crisis, two
concurrent trends—a shrinking global demand for labor and a growing supply of workers
willing to take ever greater risks for economic opportunities—seem a recipe for increased
forced labor cases of migrant workers and women in prostitution."