Not for sale

Law enforcement agencies can more easily cooperate to stop human trafficking and human traffickers can be prosecuted without forcing their minor victims to testify under new laws Gov. Bob McDonnell signed Tuesday. The governor also signed a proclamation declaring January 11 an annual day of observance to raise awareness of human trafficking in Virginia and a bill offering government assistance to help victims rebuild their lives.

"Unfortunately, the subjugation of human beings who are forced against their will into labor or worse, into the sex trade, is not something relegated to the history books or to underdeveloped third-world counties," McDonnell said in a press release.

A National Human Trafficking Resource Center report stated that there were 226 calls from Virginia made to its call center in 2010. The total was the 10th highest of any state in the nation. Before the new legislation was enacted, Virginia was named one of the "dirty dozen" states that did not have sufficient laws to target and prosecute traffickers, according to the anti-slavery group Polaris Project.

For the most part, human trafficking numbers in Virginia are unavailable, but with the new legislation, Virginia officials hope to learn more about the activity within the state and prevent it. According to a press release from the Richmond Justice Initiative, a spokesman for the FBI office in Richmond could say only that human trafficking "happens quite often."

On February 21, only a few days after one of the anti-human trafficking bills was passed, a Henrico County man was arrested for trafficking an 18-year-old Woodbridge girl and offering her services as a prostitute on an online dating site, WRIC News Channel 8 reported. Virginia sex traffickers are often found running "massage parlors" that quickly shut down once law enforcement officers receive a tip, Loudoun County Sheriff Steve Simpson told the Washington Times. And Dulles International Airport, where McDonnell conducted the signing ceremony, provides a massive hub for sex traffickers from around the world.

Law enforcement officers need training to ask the right questions because they often don't know how to distinguish victims of human trafficking from prostitutes and victims are often brainwashed to the point that they believe they've chosen this lifestyle for themselves, said Sara Pomeroy, founder and director of the Richmond Justice Initiative. "The hardest thing is to get victims to admit that they're victims."

Unlike 46 other states, Virginia has no comprehensive law on human trafficking. Sex traffickers are prosecuted as abductors, which required their victims to testify against them. Because of the stigma and fear of retribution associated with sex trafficking, many victims are unwilling to speak out. Under the new statutes, minors will not be required to testify against their traffickers for a conviction.

And convictions carry heavier penalties. House bill 1893 raised the act of abducting a child less than 16 years of age with the intent of manufacturing child pornography or prostitution to a class 2 felony, which mandates from 20 years to life in prison.

Because of Virginia's unique emphasis on judicial precedent, "what works best in Virginia is to work within the existing code," Pomeroy said. "We can't copy what works in one state in Virginia, because Virginia is so different." Now, she said, Virginia has some of the strongest anti-trafficking provisions in the nation, even without a comprehensive statute.

House bill 2190 requires the Department of Social Services to provide aid to victims of human trafficking. The DSS would work with nonprofits to coordinate the delivery of health and mental services to victims and help reunite families or return the victims to their countries of origin.

"Any time a victim is released without having services available to her, many times because of the psychological pull the trafficker has on them, they typically voluntarily go back to the lifestyle they just left because they don't know any different," Pomeroy said, noting that victims of human trafficking often need medical treatment, counseling, job training and legal services to help them break free and rebuild their lives.

"These laws make it more difficult for perpetrators to prey on Virginians by increasing penalties for these crimes and ensuring that all government services and agencies are working together to prevent human trafficking," said Delegate Tim Hugo, R-Fairfax, who sponsored HB1893. "We are making a clear statement that those who participate in human trafficking are not welcome in Virginia."

"Together, with the proper awareness and action, we can fight to end modern-day slavery in our lifetime," Pomeroy said. "Today is significant in many ways because it is sending a message to traffickers and those who enslave others that Virginia is open for honest, legal businesses, but closed for slavery."

Over 800,000 people are caught in international trafficking every year, and anywhere from 4 million to 27 million people are serving as modern slaves around the world.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter today!

CORRECTION: The original version of the story incorrectly referred to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) as the National Human Trafficking Response Center.