Vermont

In 1609, French explorer Samuel de Champlain came upon a large lake in the area we know today as Vermont and named it after himself. The state’s name comes from two French words vert (green) and mont (mountain), which explains Vermont’s nickname, the “Green Mountain State.” Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys defended their homeland from the British during the Revolutionary War. Vermont is one of the six New England states and became the 14th state in 1791. Some of Vermont’s major industries are dairy farming and tourism. One of the most picturesque states, Vermont has millions of visitors each year who come to see the leaves turn colors in the fall and the snow-covered mountains in the winter. The state flower is the red clover and the tree is the sugar maple. Vermont maple syrup is one of the state’s most popular products.

Human trafficking is a serious issue that affects people all around the world, including in Vermont. It is a form of modern slavery in which individuals are exploited for labor, sexual exploitation, or other purposes.

According to data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Vermont has consistently had relatively low numbers of human trafficking cases reported compared to other states in the United States. In 2020, the state ranked 49th in the country for the number of cases reported to the hotline, with a total of 5 cases.

Human trafficking can take many forms in Vermont, including forced labor, domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation. It often affects vulnerable populations, such as immigrants, children, and people who are homeless or in poverty.

If you suspect that someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, there are steps you can take to help. You can report the situation to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or by text at 233733. You can also contact local law enforcement or a trusted organization that provides services to victims of human trafficking. It is important to remember that the safety of the victim should be the top priority and to handle the situation with care and sensitivity.

 

 

As other states ban unpaid ‘slave’ prison labor, lawmakers drop plans to tackle issue in Florida
|

As other states ban unpaid ‘slave’ prison labor, lawmakers drop plans to tackle issue in Florida

It’s in your civics classes. The 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. But there was one glaring exception clause: if convicted by state courts, incarcerated Americans can be slaves of the state. Four states banned slavery during last year’s general elections — 150 years after enslaved Black…

TN AG Skrmetti Joins Bipartisan Effort Calling on Congress to Improve Federal-State Coordination
|

TN AG Skrmetti Joins Bipartisan Effort Calling on Congress to Improve Federal-State Coordination

Nashville – Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, in partnership with 35 other state attorneys general, sent a letter to Congressional leaders informing them of an issue of grave concern with the National Human Trafficking Hotline. The letter requests assistance from Congress to preserve the critical joint federal-state effort to end trafficking. Since 2007, Polaris has…

California lawmakers revive effort to ban involuntary servitude as punishment for crimes
|

California lawmakers revive effort to ban involuntary servitude as punishment for crimes

Last year, voters in Vermont, Oregon, Tennessee and Alabama approved historic ballot measures that removed slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime from their state constitutions, which could lead to limitations on forced prison labor. They joined a growing list of states that passed similar initiatives in recent years, including Nebraska, Utah and Colorado….

California and Nevada may ban forced prison labor, involuntary servitude
|

California and Nevada may ban forced prison labor, involuntary servitude

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Lawmakers in Nevada and California are advancing legislation to remove “involuntary servitude” from their states’ constitutions, a move that follows four states’ bans on forced labor that passed in ballot measures last fall. The goal of these proposals is to remove exceptions from the states’ constitutions that allow forced labor as criminal…

'It's Soul Crushing': Trafficking Victims Exploited Up and Down the East Coast – NBC Boston
|

'It's Soul Crushing': Trafficking Victims Exploited Up and Down the East Coast – NBC Boston

They’re promised a better life – instead the victims of human trafficking are raped, beaten and tortured. Union Street in Lynn is known by advocates as an open-air market where women are sold for sex. Mary Speta, head of the nonprofit Amirah, is on a personal mission to help end the cycle of exploitation. “There…

California may ban forced prison labor, servitude
|

California may ban forced prison labor, servitude

Lawmakers backing the legislation hope to replicate the success of similar measures that passed last fall in Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont. SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Lawmakers in Nevada and California are advancing legislation to remove “involuntary servitude” from their states’ constitutions, a move that follows four states’ bans on forced labor that passed in ballot…

CT launches task force to prevent human trafficking in Hartford area
|

CT launches task force to prevent human trafficking in Hartford area

In 2014, officials say Connecticut’s 17 teams of police and service providers dealing with child abuse across the state investigated or provided services for nine cases of child trafficking. By 2022, the number rose to 92, according to Krystal Rich, executive director of the Connecticut Children’s Alliance. “That number isn’t even scratching the surface,” Rich…

Kentucky still reaps slavery’s bitter fruit as prisons and jails swell with ‘indentured servants’
|

Kentucky still reaps slavery’s bitter fruit as prisons and jails swell with ‘indentured servants’

Kentucky resisted the end of slavery, refusing to certify the 13th Amendment at the time and only freeing people six months after June 19, 1865, the day celebrated as the Juneteenth holiday. Legislators finally ratified the amendment in 1976. And to this day, the state Constitution endorses slavery for one group of citizens: inmates. Reads…

Success of ‘Slavery on the Ballot’ Vote Could Help Incarcerated Pregnant People
|

Success of ‘Slavery on the Ballot’ Vote Could Help Incarcerated Pregnant People

This story was originally published by The 19th. During the midterm elections, five states — Alabama, Oregon, Vermont, Louisiana, and Tennessee — put to vote initiatives purported to prohibit the use of slavery and indentured servitude as a punishment for crime, an antiquated allowance given by the 13th Amendment 157 years ago this month that…

Inside Louisiana’s forced prison labor and a failed overhaul attempt
|

Inside Louisiana’s forced prison labor and a failed overhaul attempt

BATON ROUGE – Breakfast at Louisiana’s state Capitol includes fresh coffee, cookies and egg sandwiches – made and served in part by incarcerated people working for no pay. “They force us to work,” said Jonathan Archille, 29, who is among more than a dozen current and formerly incarcerated people in Louisiana who told the Washington…