Virginia was recently given a near-failing grade for its human trafficking legislation by an international legislative watchdog group that also claims Virginia is the only state in the U.S. without a specific human trafficking law code.
Washington-based Shared Hope International’s Protected Innocence Challenge is a comprehensive study of existing state laws designed to combat human trafficking.
Under the challenge, every state receives a report card that grades it on 41 key legislative components in a state’s laws in order to effectively respond to the crime of domestic minor sex trafficking. In addition, each state receives a complete legislative analysis and practical recommendations for improvement.
The 2014 Protected Innocence Challenge report card, released Nov. 6, gives Virginia an overall grade of 62 out of 100, as well as a grade of “D” for its legislative initiatives toward battling human trafficking.
“This is the fourth year we’ve graded states on their laws against child sex trafficking. The first year, over half the nation failed,” said SHI spokesperson Taryn Offenbacher.
This year, the 56-page SHI report states that Virginia remains the only U.S. state without specific human trafficking code within its law books.
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