WNCN — RALEIGH, N.C. With the biggest number of cases of human trafficking in the country, North Carolina comes in at number nine. Survivors and advocates are generating ideas for ways to support each other.
United States Attorney Michael Easley stated, “Human trafficking is happening right here in Wake County—right here in the Triangle—and throughout North Carolina.”
On Human Trafficking Awareness Day, Department of Justice officials, advocates, and survivors gave advice on how to support victims and to refute falsehoods.
“One of the biggest misconceptions regarding human trafficking is that they operate by snatching victims out of their beds or homes in the middle of the night,” according to Easley.
Human trafficking, according to advocates, occurs mostly through the grooming of minors by predators. It says that parents can take immediate action to protect their children.
“Talking to your children about these threats and how predators will use social media to try to establish relationships with them and entice them to send nude photos that they can use to control the individual is the number one thing you can do as a parent,” Easley advised.
Parents should discuss drugs with their children, according to advocates, as drug traffickers frequently use addiction as a means of controlling their victims.