Palmetto State News

The South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force has announced that it has hopes to establish safer housing for human trafficking victims, according to a report by WSPA 7.

"As law enforcement investigates an increasing number of these cases and as task force members educate more members of the community about the signs of human trafficking, more and more victims are being identified,” Kathryn Moorehead, director of the task force, told the station.

The report says the task force held its quarterly meeting early this month, when they discussed an expansion of shelter space for victims in recovery. Task force members spoke with a nonprofit human trafficking prevention organization called Safe House Project, which helps organizations with housing for human trafficking victims. The task force has said that one of the largest obstacles they face is the lack of shelter for victims of human trafficking.

“Without a safe place to go, 80% of survivors will end up back in traffickers’ hands,” Safe House Project CEO Kristi Wells said.

The goal of Safe House is to rid the U.S. of child human trafficking by 2030 through safe housing as well as education and empowering survivors. According to a report by the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force, in 2020 there were 139 cases of human trafficking and 179 victims discovered. There were 96 cases of sex trafficking, 22 cases of labor trafficking, nine cases of sex and labor trafficking together and 12 unspecified trafficking cases.

According to a release by the U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. federal government awarded nearly $101 million in funding to combat human trafficking. The Office for Victims of Crime awarded more than $97.4 million to state, local and tribal jurisdictions, service providers and task forces. The Office of Justice Program’s National Institute of Justice awarded the other $3.5 million to support research and evaluation pertaining to human trafficking.

“The scourge of human trafficking is the modern-day equivalent of slavery, brutally depriving victims of basic human rights and essential physical needs as it erodes their sense of dignity and self-worth,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “The Department of Justice is relentless in its fight against the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.  Working with state and local law enforcement and community victim service providers, we will continue to bring these criminals to justice and deliver critical aid to survivors.”