Human trafficking is a largely unspoken of and unknown
phenomenon in Virginia that is only recently being given a large legislative spotlight
to illuminate the issue.
After Gov. Bob McDonnell signed Del. Rob Bell’s (Albemarle
County) House Bill (HB) 1870 into law over the weekend[1],
the criminal offense of receiving money for ‘procuring’ an individual was added
to the list of crimes that a multijurisdictional grand jury can investigate.
According to Bell, “Working with the attorney general’s
office, I introduced HB 1870 to allow multijurisdictional grand juries to
investigate additional types of human trafficking. This is important because
these crimes often stretch across multiple jurisdictions.”[2]
For many Virginians, human trafficking is probably a remote
problem that happens in far-away lands where poverty and lawlessness are the
rules rather than the exceptions. But here, in our very own state, human
trafficking has become a vicious problem, all the more so because it is, as
Bradley Myles of the Polaris Project calls it, “a hidden problem.”[3]
According to Myles, victims of human trafficking are often
fearful of speaking to the police, concerned that they will be treated as
criminals rather than victims and worried that their captors will try to put
them back into bondage.[4]
Solving a problem with so many unknowns is a considerable
challenge, one that law enforcement agencies have been grappling with since the
phenomenon began to be noticed a few years ago. But to my mind the first and
biggest step towards ending this system of criminality is acknowledging that the
problem exists, by educating the public of Virginia and making them aware that
human trafficking is a practice taking place in our very own state.
It is perhaps natural to see our world and our state as
existing largely outside of the confines of such deplorable practices like
human trafficking. But without acknowledgement, without public disapprobation,
outrage, and assistance, human trafficking will persist and potentially grow.
It’s up to each of us as concerned citizens to educate
ourselves about this problem and help out as appropriate and how best we can.
[1] http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/article_48e7cf08-89d0-11e2-b354-001a4bcf6878.html
[2] http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/article_48e7cf08-89d0-11e2-b354-001a4bcf6878.html
[3] http://www.polarisproject.org/media-center/polaris-project-in-the-news/366-nbc-human-trafficking-in-virginia-part-i
[4] http://www.polarisproject.org/media-center/polaris-project-in-the-news/366-nbc-human-trafficking-in-virginia-part-i
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