When many of us think about human trafficking, we imagine a kidnapping at the border. But often that’s not the case – in fact, it’s just as prevalent in our own communities, says John Weil of UNCG’s N.C. Network for Safe Communities.
“People have this vision of somebody loaded into the trunk of a car and moved to another state,” he says. “In many cases in our communities, sex trafficking may be a process where a pimp builds a romantic relationship – maybe with a high school kid they find on social media, someone who appears vulnerable.
“Then it’s, ‘We need money for rent. Can you do this favor just one time?’” he adds. “Once you cross a threshold into victimization, you feel like you don’t have anywhere to go – you’re trapped and under the control of the trafficker.”
Weil and his colleague Dr. Stacy Sechrist have spent the last 10 years partnering with the three U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across North Carolina, using data-driven strategies to crack down on gun, drug, gang, and domestic violence. Now, they are focused on a newer trend: gangs entering into human trafficking, enticed by the difficulty law enforcement has in tracking that activity.
“A gang might use drugs and guns to make money, but those are finite resources that can be seized by police,” explains Weil. Pimps rely on the ability to control their victims, a different type of resource that’s not so easily confiscated and is, worse yet, reusable.
Thanks to Weil’s and Sechrist’s reputation for working with communities across the state to deter violence, in 2019 they were awarded a Governor’s Crime Commission grant to explore this issue in North Carolina. With the funding, they’re gathering and analyzing data from seven eastern counties to better understand what sex and labor trafficking looks like in rural communities.
