Definitions of Human Trafficking - West Virginia

Defined in Child Protection Law

Citation: Ann. Code § 49-1-201

The term 'abused child' means a child whose health or welfare is being harmed or threatened by the following:

• Sexual abuse or sexual exploitation
• Human trafficking or attempted human trafficking, in violation of § 61-14-2

The term 'sexual exploitation' means an act in which the following occurs:

• A parent, custodian, or guardian, whether for financial gain or not, persuades, induces, entices, or coerces a child to engage in sexually explicit conduct, as that term is defined in § 61-8c-1.
• A parent, guardian, or custodian persuades, induces, entices, or coerces a child to display his or her sex organs for the sexual gratification of the parent, guardian, custodian, or a third person, or to display his or her sex organs under circumstances in which the parent, guardian, or custodian knows that the display is likely to be observed by others who would be affronted or alarmed.
• A parent, guardian, or custodian knowingly maintains or makes available a child for the purpose of engaging the child in commercial sexual activity, in violation of § 61-14-5.

Definitions of Labor Trafficking

Citation: Ann. Code § 61-14-1

The term 'coercion' means the following:

• The use or threat of force against, abduction of, serious harm to, or physical restraint of an individual
• The use of a plan, pattern, or statement with intent to cause an individual to believe that failure to perform an act will result in the use of force against, abduction of, serious harm to, physical restraint of, or deportation of an individual
• The abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process
• The destruction or taking of, or the threatened destruction or taking of, an individual's identification document or other property
• The use of an individual's physical or mental impairment when the impairment has a substantial adverse effect on the individual's cognitive or volitional function

The term 'debt bondage' means inducing an individual to provide the following:

• Commercial sexual activity in payment toward or satisfaction of a real or purported debt
• Labor or services in payment toward or satisfaction of a real or purported debt if either of the following apply:
  • The reasonable value of the labor or services is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt.
  • The length of the labor or services is not limited, and the nature of the labor or services is not defined.

The term 'forced labor' means labor or services that are performed or provided by another person and are obtained or maintained through the following:

• Threat, either implicit or explicit; deception or fraud; scheme; plan; pattern; or other action intended to cause a person to believe that, if the person did not perform or provide the labor or services, that person or another person would suffer serious bodily harm, physical restraint, or deportation
• Physically restraining or threatening to physically restrain a person
• Abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process
• Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document of another person

The terms 'human trafficking,' 'trafficking,' or 'traffics' mean knowingly recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, receiving, providing, obtaining, isolating, maintaining, or enticing an individual to engage in debt bondage, forced labor, or sexual servitude.

The term 'serious harm' means harm, whether physical or nonphysical, including psychological, economic, or reputational, to an individual that would compel a reasonable individual of the same background and in the same circumstances to perform or continue to perform labor or services or sexual activity to avoid incurring the harm.

Definitions of Sex Trafficking of Minors

Citation: Ann. Code § 61-14-1

The term 'commercial sexual activity' means sexual activity for which anything of value is given to, promised to, or received by a person.

The term 'patronize' means giving, agreeing to give, or offering to give anything of value to another person in exchange for commercial sexual activity.

The term 'sexual activity' means sexual contact, sexual intercourse, sexual intrusion, or sexually explicit conduct.

The term 'sexual servitude' means either of the following:

• Maintaining or making available a minor for the purpose of engaging the minor in commercial sexual activity
• Using coercion to compel an adult to engage in commercial sexual activity