Volusia Leaders Take Aim At Human Trafficking

DeLand, FL – In just one month, a new Volusia County ordinance going into effect will require certain businesses to display a sign with the National Human Trafficking hotline number as an effort to curb human trafficking. On August 16, strip clubs and massage parlors, whether or not they lie within an incorporated or unincorporated area, will be required to display the signs outside their businesses. The only businesses that are excluded from this order are massage businesses that are owned by health care practitioners, per the county. The sign itself will be in English and Spanish and will warn victims to call the hotline if they are being forced to engage in an activity and cannot leave, whether its prostitution, housework, farm work, factory work, retail work, restaurant work. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), human trafficking is a modern form of slavery where men, women, and children are recruited or obtained and then forced to labor against their will through force, fraud, or coercion. Victims are often tempted by false promises of decent jobs and better lives. Human traffickers tend to instill fear in their victims and look for those who are susceptible for a variety of reasons, which is commonly because of emotional vulnerability or economic hardship. Victims can range from girls groomed and forced into sexual exploitation, men tricked into forced labor in construction sites, farms or factories, and women recruited for domestic work only to be trapped and abused behind closed doors. According to the county, language barriers and a fear of traffickers and law enforcement keep many victims from seeking help. In a press release discussing the ordinance, the county stated that any area law enforcement agency, be it the sheriff’s office or a local police department, are authorized to issue noncriminal citations to businesses that violate the ordinance. Violators can be fined up to $500, according to Florida statutes. For more information on the county’s initiative against human trafficking, visit their human trafficking webpage (click here). If you believe you or someone you known is a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888. If you suspect a child is a victim, call the Florida Abuse Hotline at 800-96-ABUSE.