Human Trafficking - The Dignity Mandate

Dr. Ricks
Aug 13
2 min read

The Virginia Office of the Attorney General, Jason S. Miyares, hosted a human trafficking summit in Arlington, VA this week that Dr. Ricks was honored to be invited to attend. Dr. Ricks is an advocate who supports the eradication of human trafficking and partners throughout the community to ensure education is shared about the topic. Human trafficking is defined by the Blue Campaign as:

sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or

the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

This year's theme was The Dignity Mandate. It is essential that we see each and every human being as just that: a human being - not a product, not an animal, or not anything else. The old adage of treating others the way you want to be treated still reigns and is the gold standard on how all people should be treated.

The State of Virginia has organizations across the State that are very serious about the eradication of this behavior. There were speakers from all across the country that had valuable input and action plans to addressing this behavior. Virginia's very own Governor Glenn Youngkin and First Lady Suzanne Youngkin were speakers and had strong thoughts to share regarding eradicating the behavior and forming strong partnerships throughout the region because this cannot be addressed on an individual level but collectively.

A primary way to address the concern is to ensure the public is educated. If one does not know a behavior is wrong and against the law, how would they be expected to address it? Now, with this information being made available far and wide, it is time to do something about this.

If you see, hear, or suspect human trafficking behavior, it is up to you to report it. To report, contact:

1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or go to

www.dhs.gov/bluecampaign

Begin to research what your rights are if you determine you are a victim. The Virginia Crime Victim and Witness Rights office explains that victim can be entitled to: