Recently, Shared Hope International completed the Protected Innocence Challenge which is a study to rate each state on the effectiveness of their laws against Human Trafficking. Each state received a report card and a grade of A through F.
So, how did we do? Sadly, not very well. No state received an A. There are seven B grades: Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri and Washington state. There are also seven C grades: Alaska, Arizona, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee. The remaining 36 states and Washington D.C. received grades of D or F.
We are failing as a country. We are failing the victims caught in trafficking and we are failing our national motto of "Land of the Free". Organized crime all over the world, and especially here in the United States, are turning away from selling drugs and are now selling people. Drugs, guns and other material items can only be sold once; however, a person can be sold over and over again. The cost and risk are very little and the monetary gain is immense.
What can we do? We need stricter laws in every state so that trafficking becomes a high risk venture. It won't eliminate all crime, but it will prevent some. Future articles will cover laws each state has, how well the law is enforced and the law's effectiveness. We also need to consider the person leaving trafficking and the victims still trapped.
How well did your state score? See the full report, click here: http://sharedhope.org/what-we-do/bring-justice/state-by-state-grades/
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