Raising Awareness on Human Trafficking

When Janice Dyer talks about the topic of human trafficking, the words “public awareness” quickly enter into the conversation. Janice, a Hilton Head resident since 1985, is the founder of the Lowcountry Coalition Against Human Trafficking (LCAHT). The non-profit organization aims to raise awareness of human trafficking, which is the illegal trade of humans for the purpose of commercial sex exploitation, forced labor or domestic servitude.

Janice first became familiarized with human trafficking - often referred to as modern-day slavery - about seven years ago when she and others from the women’s advocate group Zonta Club of Hilton Head Island traveled to Key West, Fla., to attend a conference. An FBI agent, who addressed the topic of human trafficking, was among the speakers.

“At the time, none of us had heard about human trafficking. We’d heard the term, but we didn’t know about it,” Janice said. As a way of raising awareness, the FBI speaker encouraged people to organize anti-trafficking coalitions in their local communities. Janice became the first president of the all-volunteer LCAHT, which started in 2010. It currently has about 40 members.

Human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest international criminal industry in the world and the fastest growing, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The International Labor Organization reports it generates yearly profits of an estimated $32 billion.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and The Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, which is the chief prosecuting agency in the county, are among those that work with the coalition in an effort to educate. LCAHT is sponsoring a human trafficking conference on Sept. 19 at the Palmetto Electric Cooperative in Hardeeville. Over the years, LCAHT has reached audiences through presentations at the Boys & Girls clubs in Beaufort County, as well as the distribution of pamphlets and tip sheets in public places.

“The goal is public awareness so that people can start spotting something that doesn’t look quite right,” Janice said. “Instead of ignoring it, now they can report it.” When something seems suspicious, the public can call the Beaufort County dispatch at (843) 524-2777 or the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline at (888) 373-7888.

In 2013, the National Human Trafficking hotline received 273 calls from South Carolina, including 45 tips about potential human trafficking cases, according to Daniel Brownstein, communications director of the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office that serves Beaufort, Allendale, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties. Daniel said there has been one documented case of human trafficking in Beaufort County in recent years, which involved a restaurant. The case was reduced to an immigration violation when the victims declined to help the prosecution.

Daniel explained human trafficking cases are often difficult to detect because it is a clandestine crime designed to look like legitimate business. It could involve foreign workers at nail salons, hotels or restaurants, working off a debt for coming to the U.S., who look like many other service-industry workers in Beaufort County.

“We know that human trafficking exists throughout the country. We also know that areas that cater to tourists, those along major interstates and those that are near military installations, are especially prone to human trafficking based on the high demand for labor and sex trafficking,” Daniel said.

G. Max Fratoddi, a retired FBI agent and Bluffton resident, serves on the LCAHT board. During his career, Max’s focus included human trafficking, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, drug intelligence and international operations.

“The primary focus of most smaller, private, non-profit, anti-human trafficking groups (including ours) is public awareness,” Max wrote in an email from Kabul, Afghanistan, where he is working with the Afghan government under the U.S. Department of State. “Our annual conference in September is a big part of our public awareness effort, along with representation at public events, fundraising, media coverage, etc.”

Max said people who live and/or work in Beaufort County should be aware of or look for a number of human trafficking victim signs during the course of their daily interactions (see list).

“Needless to say, these signs individually don’t necessarily confirm that someone is a human trafficking victim,” Max said. “But when they occur in clusters, they are good indicators of some type of bondage situation, and should be reported to the FBI, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), or local law enforcement as soon as possible.”

Recognizing Victim’s Signs Related to Human Trafficking
• Person does not speak for himself/herself
• Unkempt appearance
• Social awkwardness
• Acting embarrassed
• Signs of abuse (bruises, cuts, black eyes)
• Abdominal/vaginal distress
• Recurrent STDs
• Unexplained hotel keys
• Unexplained fatigue
• Unexplained loss of weight
• Drop in grades
• Abnormal anxiety

What: Conference on Human Trafficking sponsored by the Lowcountry Coalition Against Human Trafficking (LCAHT).

When: Sept. 19 from 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Where: Palmetto Electric Cooperative, 1 Cooperative Way, Hardeeville (across from USCB).

Admission: Free

Information: http://www.lcaht.org/ or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.