Human trafficking concerns with harboring, obtaining, transporting or abducting people forcibly through compulsion, intimidation or force. It is done for either the purpose of to sell commercial sex or working as a labor. It is widely exploited in Virginia and other places as well, where people are forced into performing labor or for the purpose of commercial sex. Human trafficking in Virginia is more concerned with both labor and sex trafficking.
Becoming Victims of Human Trafficking
Human trafficking has now become a global crime, which has cut through across all borders demographically. People are transported regardless of gender, education, race, color, ability or socio-economic status. They severely get affected by human trafficking. Traffickers try to seek ways to control and force their victims into performing illegal activities, such as commercial sex or performing other illicit and unlawful acts. Some sex traffickers offer these victims commodities, which are missing from their lives, such as physical support in terms of food, clothing or shelter. Sometimes they even misguide them, making them believe in interpersonal relationships. Marriage, respect, love and promises for high paying jobs.
The main purpose of traffickers is to make their victim feel vulnerable in such a way that they feel helpless and then resort towards prostitution. The government or the state should identify ways in order to counter human trafficking. They need to identify signs of human trafficking, which may include:
- People who do not appear to be citizens of the same country and who reside in a worksite or cheap accommodation which seems to be isolated from the community
- People who start living at Isolated worksites in close shared living quarters and kitchen facilities
- People who are not paid as much as a regular worker or very little or even face confiscated pay by the employer
- People working at such sites or locations which have multiple cameras, darkened windows or stacked mattresses
- People who have multiple unexplained injuries, rugged clothes, multiple business cards or who are referring to multiple identity names.
Human trafficking can involve both in sex or labor trafficking. Suck traffickers resort to manipulation, kidnap, abduction or confinement. Such crimes must be reported immediately to the police or law enforcement agencies. The government should be on the lookout for signs or such indicators, where a close community is accommodating groups of people who appear to belong from another country, who appear to be controlled, scared, exploited, manipulated or confined in a matter which appears to be inappropriate. There are strict laws regarding human trafficking, which can lead to a jail time of 10 to 15 years and a fine up to 150k. Such acts deprive a person of his or her freedom and force him to become a modern day slave. Human trafficking also involves the illegal trade of people, which is solely for the purpose of commercial gain and sexual exploitation. Human traffic has now become a billion dollar industry and an international threat.