State And Local Leaders Discuss Human Trafficking

State and local leaders, including Director of Anti-Human Trafficking for the Virginia Attorney General's Office Tanya Gould, discussed human trafficking at a forum held at First Presbyterian Church Wednesday afternoon.

Gould, alongside Del. Tony Wilt (R) and Commonwealth's Attorney Marsha Garst, discussed human trafficking in the area and in the U.S. and talked about some of the ways the issue is being addressed at state and local levels.

Gould, who is a survivor of human trafficking, explained that traffickers and victims of trafficking are everyday people. Traffickers use force, fraud and coercion, Gould said, to exploit others.

“Traffickers will make you think that this was your idea. You bought into this. So now there is the responsibility and accountability because it was your decision,” Gould said. “They want to give you a dream. They make a promise because they tell you that no one else is going to help you with this but I will as I have the means to.”

Garst said that trafficking was happening in the area and used an example of a 13-year-old who moved to the area for a better life but was then taken advantage of.

“It took a lot of work to prosecute that case and get justice for her. But it's happening right here,” Garst said. “And it's happening in homes where parents are exploiting children for pornography. And it's happening in relationships where abusive partners are forcing activities.”

Garst said she wanted people to know that there wasn't just one definition of human trafficking.

“The key thing with human trafficking is to make sure you don't define it in a specific way,” Garst said. “It can be children being trafficked by their parents. It can be people in a domestic situation being harmed and trafficked, and it could be people that are being brought here to this community under the guise of having a new opportunity.”

Both Wilt and Gould said that human trafficking impacts people locally, and that it can be an issue closer than many people may realize. 

“There's something we can do about it,” Wilt said. “There's something that we as citizens can be active participants in and keeping our eyes open in our communities. We can be watching for those signs that are out there.”

Laws that were recently passed and went into effect were also brought up at the forum, like the law requiring age verification for Pornhub and a a law requiring hotels to provide human trafficking training for employees.

Some attendees at the forum asked about trafficking in places like churches. Garst said that if someone has concerns, to reach out to Child Protective Services, law enforcement and the Commonwealth's Attorney's office.