Video: "A" Grade in HT Prevention Efforts

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody today announced Florida’s score with Shared Hope International for the state’s efforts against human trafficking. Florida scored a 94-A grade in the non-profit group’s Protected Innocence Challenge for the state’s human trafficking laws and resources for law enforcement officers.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Fighting human trafficking and rescuing survivors are some of my top priorities as Attorney General, and it is encouraging to see Florida scored so highly for its efforts to combat this scourge on society. With Florida hosting several national events in the coming years, we will continue to aggressively fight human trafficking in our state.”

The Protected Innocence Challenge is a study of existing state laws conducted by Shared Hope International. Each state received a report card that grades the state on 41 key legislative components to effectively respond to the crime of domestic minor sex trafficking.

Shared Hope International gave Florida a 94-A score due to Florida having:

• Statutes criminalizing child sex trafficking regardless of whether force, fraud or coercion was used, and regardless of whether a trafficker was involved or identified;
• Laws that prohibit the criminalization of minors for prostitution offenses, and specialized services for commercially sexually exploited children; and
• Law enforcement officers with critical investigative tools to go after child human traffickers.

To view Florida’s report card, click here.

To learn more about the Protected Innocence Challenge, click here.

Stopping human trafficking is a major tenet of the Attorney General’s Office. Last month, Attorney General Moody, along with Truckers Against Trafficking and the Florida Trucking Association, hosted a training event in Orlando to aid truck drivers in spotting and stopping human trafficking. To learn more, click here.

The Attorney General serves as chair on the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking, which builds on existing state and local partnerships working to combat human trafficking. For more information on the council, click here.

The Attorney General’s Office’s website provides resources and information on spotting and reporting human trafficking. To access the resource page, click here.

Report human trafficking by calling the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1(888) 373-7888.