The TVPA has been reauthorized throughout the years,"" and the
reauthorizations have gradually improved conditions for victims of
trafficking. For example, the 2008 reauthorization eliminated the
requirement that victims comply with law enforcement's reasonable
request for cooperation in order to be eligible for a T visa, by stating that
requests from law enforcement would be "unreasonable" if "a trafficking
victim, due to psychological or physical trauma, is unable to cooperate with a request for assistance. Other advancements have been made which
serve both prosecutorial and victim protection interests, including the
creation of a private right of action for victims to commence civil charges
against their traffickers.'9n Although these advancements reduce obstacles
to victim protection, "[lt]hese changes do not, however, alter the
fundamental balance of the law, which still prioritizes prosecution over
victim protection. "'' At the time of this original writing, the TVPA had not
been reauthorized since 2008, and expired at the end of 2011.192 On March
7, 2013, President Obama signed the Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act, empowering anti-trafficking programs for the next
'93 four years.