Image via WikipediaBy Yvonne Wenger
ywenger@postandcourier.com
Previous coverage. Recent North Charleston human trafficking case puts spotlight on modern-day slavery in S.C., published 12/17/10
COLUMBIA -- Legislators returning to the South Carolina Statehouse on Tuesday will find a group of advocates and law enforcement officials who want to raise awareness for a crime taking place in the state's cities and towns: human trafficking.
The 10 a.m. gathering in the Capitol lobby is planned to promote National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, said Betty Houbion, vice president of the Eastern Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking. That's the same day state lawmakers return to session.
The state added human trafficking to the list of violent crimes last year. That allowed police to charge a North Charleston woman with the crime in November after a young Mexican woman was found wandering in a confused state in a North Charleston subdivision.
The Mexican woman told police she had been smuggled into United States and was being held against her will.
Read a brief prepared for state legislators by the Eastern Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking.Brief from the Eastern Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking
Officials said they don't know how widespread the problem is here, but U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said the North Charleston case wasn't an aberration.
Human trafficking is a term to describe forced labor and sexual exploitation, and it also can involve forced organ donation. Houbion said South Carolina is a destination and a pass-through state for human-trafficking criminals because of its hospitality industry and highway system.
Victims -- foreigners and Americans -- can be forced to work in restaurants and hotels, and as landscapers and farm hands, Houbion said. Companies may not know these people are working for them because the victims often work through subcontractors, she said.
Houbion's group is part of an expanding network of advocates trying to help victims and make the public aware of the warning signs.
If people notice someone who looks disorientated or scared, they can call 911 or the National Human Trafficking Resource Center's 24-hour hotline, 1-888-373-7888.
Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-926-7855.
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