Just last year, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received 76 reports of human trafficking in S.C. – most of which were in Richland County. The 2016 S.C. Human Trafficking Task Force annual report shows state courts closed 50 human trafficking cases + have another 28 charges pending – again, most of these cases in Richland County. (Scary.) So, what is Rich Co. doing to stop this?
In 2015, Richland County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (RCAT) was created – in partnership with Richland County Sheriff’s Department, several nonprofits + others – to address these issues. And last month, Alexis Williams Scurry was hired as a full-time project coordinator for the force – a position that was previously part-time, until the trafficking numbers started increasing.
Sadly, children (usually girls ages 12-14) are the most common victims of human trafficking – sex trafficking in particular. The Court Appointed Special Advocate department (CASA) deals with 1-2 new cases (involving young children) every month.
Sex trafficking isn’t the only form of human trafficking Scurry will be working with. Labor trafficking (people being forced to work with little or no pay) is also an issue in the restaurant industry.
There are very few resources + services for human trafficking victims in S.C., so Scurry is ready “stretch her muscles” and make a change in the community.
