Twenty million - that's the estimated number of human trafficking victims worldwide. Hundreds of thousands of these victims are Americans - mostly women and children - and many are right here in our own backyard.
When I first learned about human trafficking and saw the statistics, I was shocked that this horrific industry was making a fortune within our borders. In the United States alone, human trafficking rakes in an astounding $9.8 billion from the use and abuse of victims.
While not in large numbers, the horrible crime of human trafficking occurs in West Virginia's small communities and towns.
In 2014, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center received 39 calls reporting suspected human trafficking in West Virginia.
This terrible crime occurs in our hotels and at our truck stops. It happens at our schools and online. Several things contribute to trafficking in the Mountain State, including our interstate highways, high poverty and unemployment rates, and the drug epidemic. These statistics are frightening, and as a mother and grandmother, they hit too close to home.
We cannot allow this horrendous crime to continue.
Last year, I hosted a forum at West Virginia State University to discuss how we can combat human trafficking. The event featured law enforcement, advocates, academics and state lawmakers. I also supported several bills in the House of Representatives to end this vicious crime.
As a United States senator, I have co-sponsored three additional pieces of legislation to continue the fight against this scourge on our communities. One of these bills, The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, is a bipartisan piece of legislation that will make it easier for law enforcement to identify and address patterns of human trafficking.
The bill bolsters the tools available to law enforcement to crack down on human traffickers, and it helps victims restore their lives through increased federal resources.
More specifically, this legislation creates a Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund that the attorney general can use to fund victims' support programs for human trafficking and child pornography survivors.
It also recognizes that child pornography production is a form of human trafficking and allows state and local human trafficking task forces to obtain wiretap warrants within their own state courts without federal approval in order to investigate crimes of child pornography.
This bill has widespread support from 200 advocacy groups, including the NAACP, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Rights 4 Girls, National Association to Protect Children, Fraternal Order of Police and the National Conference of State Legislatures.
I am optimistic that when the Senate returns next week, we will come together to pass this important legislation.
Despite these efforts, the fight is far from over. That is why I am hosting a second forum on human trafficking today at West Liberty University to continue the conversation about how to stop this crime. The event will feature testimony from law enforcement, advocates, academics and a human trafficking victim who will share her personal story of survival.
Now is the time for us to join together, learn more about this horrible crime and take a significant step toward ending human trafficking in West Virginia and our neighboring states.
We need to care for our sons, our daughters and our neighbors - and keep our eyes and ears open.
Now is the time to stand up and say no more to human trafficking. Now is the time to show broad support for these victims and punish traffickers to the fullest extent of the law. The innocent victims of human trafficking have suffered enough.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., will sponsor a panel discussion on human trafficking at 10 a.m. today. It is open to the public and will be held at West Liberty University, in the Emmet Boyle Conference Room at the Academic, Sports and Recreation Complex. The event will feature testimony from law enforcement, advocates, academics and a human trafficking survivor.
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