Our last discussion touched on a very grim subject that affects the entire world, the United States and South Carolina as well. Sex trafficking and slavery is a horrible business that focuses on children and women primarily. Many of these victims come from troubled homes and are runaways, but a surprising number are kidnapped and forced into this disgusting ‘trade’. We’ve talked repeatedly about avoiding dangerous areas at night, not purchasing gas after dark, and safety in numbers when shopping or celebrating on the town. Situational Awareness is key in avoiding crime and personal attacks, but even during the day, if you drop your guard you can become a victim of horrible situations like this. As parents maintaining strict computer, tablet and phone security at home cannot be overemphasized. These animals entice unhappy children and teenagers trying to get them to leave your home and meet them. You must be actively involved in every facet of their lives including their friends and their friend’s families, that’s the world we live in now !
One of the big problems is that despite law enforcement efforts to curb and stop this problem on the streets, known sex traffickers seem to be escaping convictions and jail time. In 2016 only 50 convictions were closed in South Carolina. The heat needs to be turned up on the politicians and judges in this state, to let them know that we won’t let this heinous crime against our children and women continue any longer. We also must take strong actions on our own to speak up when we see commercial sex ads for children and women, to shine a light on the darkness this filthy business requires to succeed.
Another related problem is that once a person escapes from this horrible life of abuse, forced addiction, constant threats and violence, there’s very few recovery options available. South Carolina at last check doesn’t have a single recovery house for victims of this hellish industry, and very few ministries that reach out to these forgotten souls. Compare this to drug addicts that seem to have a recovery house in many medium to large cities across the state.
For more information on this difficult subject, consider palmettoalliance.org at 803-733-5600, or the Human Trafficking Hotline at: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/state/south-carolina or call 888-373-7888. This national hotline received over 34,000 calls in 2016 with 261 of those coming in from South Carolina which puts us at number 28th in the country for reporting and trying to solve this crime.
Please consider getting involved to help solve this real-life nightmare, and start by protecting those closest to you, family and friends.
Don’t be a victim…be a Street Survivor !
Please send in your questions and comments to: Streetactics@gmail.com.
Rick ‘Pirate Hunter’ Grover strongly believes we’re all in this together, and the more we learn and train, the better we’ll be prepared for any eventuality. This makes all of us part of an amazing neighborhood team of American Patriots. God Bless America ! ♦
