Education is the imparting and acquiring of knowledge through teaching and learning and is the best way to fight sex trafficking.
Are you aware that Greenville County is the third largest county in South Carolina with reported cases of trafficking? Close behind it are Spartanburg and Anderson Counties at fifth and sixth place.
That is right here, in your backyard.
However, it is not happening in the parking lot of Walmart. People are being trafficked by someone they know and trust.
I imagine right now questions are rolling around in your brain. “How? Who is most at risk? What are the red flags? What does it even look like? What can I be looking out for?” And I’m sure many more.
Traffickers do not have the same “look.” They use force, fraud, or coercion to entrap someone into the life.
A young person is often groomed, made to believe they are loved as a boyfriend/girlfriend, only for the perpetrator to flip on them once the bond has been formed. Sometimes the trafficker is a family member or friend who is a trusted adult in their life.
There are many risk factors and vulnerabilities that traffickers pinpoint (this is not an exhaustive list):
- Sexual abuse
- Homelessness
- Isolation
- Emotional distress
- Poverty
- Family dysfunction
- Substance abuse
- Mental illness
- Learning disabilities
- Developmental delay
- Lack of social support
- Lack of personal safety
One question we often get at Switch is “How do we recognize it?”
Though each trafficking story is different, there are many red flags one can look out for when observing a situation. Here are a few examples:
- A boyfriend/girlfriend who is noticeably older and/or controlling.
- Bruises or other signs of physical trauma.
- Withdrawn behavior, depression, anxiety, or fear.
- An attempt to conceal scars, tattoos, or bruises.
- Hyperarousal
- Symptoms of anger, panic, phobia, irritability.
- Hyperactivity (fidgeting)
- Regressive behavior and or clinging behavior.
- Inability to bond with others.
- A sudden change in attire, behavior, personal hygiene, relationships, or material possessions (ex. expensive items)
- No longer interested in age-appropriate activities.
- Inappropriate dress (based on weather conditions or surroundings).
- Uncharacteristic promiscuity and/or references to sexual situations or terminology beyond age-specific norms.
- Hunger or malnourishment.
It is important to note that one of these red flags does not automatically mean someone is being trafficked and/or exploited. However, a combination of them may indicate that it could be happening and warrant a need to further pursue it.
As noted above, Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson are in the top six counties of reported cases here in South Carolina. We believe a huge reason is because of the awareness and prevention efforts happening across the upstate to bring light to this very difficult, very painful reality right here in our backyard.
Switch offers numerous presentations for free to anyone across the Upstate based on the audience and needs.
The more we can educate our community, the better.
Why? Because then we can help prevent young people from experiencing trauma that may take the rest of their lives to heal from. We can also intervene in the lives of those who are in the midst of a very dark season of life, giving them language to understand that what is happening to them is not normal.
Education is awareness.
Education is prevention.
Education is intervention.
Have you heard? What will you do about it? If you’d like more information about educating those in your community or if you are interested in volunteering to bring education to your circle of influence, please reach out to info@switchsc.org.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. – Nelson Mandela
One Comment