Source: The Washington Post | March 6, 2019
“At the University of Maryland Support, Advocacy, Freedom, and Empowerment (SAFE) Center for Human Trafficking Survivors — a comprehensive direct services, research, and advocacy center on human trafficking — almost half of the people seeking services are victims of labor. The majority are vulnerable women from marginalized communities who were deceived by fraudulent contracts and false promises of legitimate jobs. But instead, they were compelled to work in virtual slavery under circumstances they were not free to leave — in domestic servitude, home health care, restaurants and agriculture.
Unfortunately, labor trafficking occurs in communities across Maryland. Without a state statute that specifically criminalizes labor trafficking, the perpetrators of these crimes in Maryland are unlikely to be brought to justice. The Anti-Exploitation Act of 2019 is a strong step forward toward preventing and deterring labor trafficking in our state.”