Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking

Two of the worst crimes ever, domestic violence and human trafficking are actually connected in some ways and can be a precursor to an intense criminal conviction in Nevada.

Generally, these two offenses seem far off from each other but know that domestic violence could lead to human trafficking and human trafficking also often results in domestic violence. But for the most part, they are intertwined. On this post, we talk about their connections, their prevalence in the state of Nevada and the rest of the country and what could happen if you are charged with either of the crimes.

The parallels of domestic violence and human trafficking

Domestic violence is when a person willfully hurts, threatens, and coerces their family member or anyone in the household, physically and mentally. This is one of the most severe crimes in Nevada and is punishable with either misdemeanor or felony penalties.

Human trafficking, on the other hand, while not the talk of the town is actually rampant in the State of Nevada. Usually, in the form of sex trafficking, 136 cases of it were reported in 2016. Both punishable by the State and the federal government, human trafficking is an automatic felony charge and has punishments that vary depending on the magnitude of the case.

Now, how are they parallel to each other?

Both crimes have victims subjected to physical and emotional trauma and the perpetrators can be someone close or related. For domestic violence, it is the family member or someone living in the house while for human trafficking, it’s usually someone who had gained the victim’s trust.

Domestic violence also usually has elements of beating and detention as well as other crimes like kidnapping. This is no different from human trafficking where once the victims are captured, they are hit if they do not follow the traffickers and they are isolated if the perpetrator desires so.

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and domestic violence that has the abuser holding and treating the victims as if they are something less than a human also borders to slavery. Both of these crimes can also overlap or happen at the same time as well as antecedents to each other. Many victims of human trafficking are domestic violence victims first as it also happens that the perpetrator of the abuse is their loved one. This is domestic trafficking and according to data from The Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC), 41 percent of human trafficking cases in the country have a family or a relative as recruiters.

And also many of human trafficking victims are housed in and then abused which is essentially domestic violence. The post-traumatic stress disorders brought about by two of the crimes are also definitely similar to each other.

In hindsight, human trafficking and domestic violence are basically both violations of human rights.

The State’s move to end domestic violence and human trafficking

Nevada has always been firm about domestic violence and human trafficking as evident from their stringent laws written in the Nevada Revised Statutes. However, as we said, the crimes still continue to roll in the State. With this, the government was driven to come together to combat the two crimes.

There is the Nevada Coalition to End Domestic Violence (NCEDV), an assembly of advocates that helps survivors and campaigns against domestic violence. Of course, the law enforcement remains to be a strict enforcer of domestic violence laws. Currently, they have a new strategy where they bring in domestic violence advocates following the arrest to aid victims in stating the truth about the situation.

Just February of this year, Nevada formed a task force composed of different law enforcement agencies and advocacy groups that will mostly work in the Las Vegas Valley. The Las Vegas Metropolitan also has a renewed focus on the potential avenues someone could be abducted for human trafficking like ride-sharing services. According to a news report, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department now has a dedicated task force to monitor potential trafficking on ride-sharing vehicles. Even concerned citizens and groups are making desperate actions, also February this year, an anti-trafficking activist filed a lawsuit to make Nevada brothels (sites for human trafficking) unconstitutional.

The defenses against either of the charges

Both domestic violence and human trafficking carries such weighty charges and being charged for both will be a grave challenge for anyone who will face it.

If charged with domestic violence, you can use the following defenses:

• No domestic violence happened
• There is no strong evidence to press you on the charges
• It was self-defense
• You are willing to use a plea bargain

Now if charged with human trafficking you can consider any of these defenses:

• No trafficking happened
• You are unaware that the alleged victim is an illegal alien
• You did not gain any financial compensation during the supposed trafficking

Finally, if you are accused of any of the charges or both in Nevada, better reinforce yourself with a criminal defense attorney in Las Vegas or elsewhere in the State as domestic violence and human trafficking are heavy and the expertise of a trusted legal advisor should help you acquit you.