These SC counties are most likely where human trafficking is highest. But nobody knows for sure.

Adam Benson
Provided /Provided

Horry County for the first time has given up its position as South Carolina’s leading spot for reported incidents of human trafficking as suspected cases continue to rise across the state’s most populous areas.

“As I used to say years ago, people would think of human trafficking as something that they watched in a Hollywood movie. It happens in far off land or major metropolitan city, but what we realize is, that myth got busted,” S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson said at a Jan. 9 press conference to announce findings from the 2022 Human Trafficking Task Force’s annual report.

Over the last two years, South Carolina has seen a 64% jump in suspected trafficking victims: From 179 in 2020 to 277 last year.

And for the first time, those involved in labor exploitation outpaced sexual abuse: 132 compared to 177. Sixteen people are believed to have been used for both purposes while 12 have unknown origins.

Greenville, Charleston, Richland, Horry and Spartanburg counties — the state’s five largest by population — led the way in reported calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, according to task force’s report.

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That information came with a caveat, as collecting data on human trafficking remains an inexact science.

Authorities make their findings based on calls to the national hot line, state and federal court filings, S.C. Law Enforcement Division investigations and state Department of Social Services inquiries.

“This is a metric of awareness, not a metric of activity,” Wilson said. “You can have far more activity in another county that people aren’t making the call. We don’t know what we don’t know.”

Another first: Of the 277 suspected trafficking victims within the state last year, those involved in labor exploitation outpaced sex abuse: 132 compared to 117 respectively, Wilson said.

Meanwhile, 10 other people charged with human trafficking moved through South Carolina’s courts last year, while 34 cases are pending according to data released Jan. 9 by the state’s top prosecutor.

Since its 2007 inception, the hotline has identified 996 cases of human trafficking involving 2,876 victims statewide.

But with nearly $2 million in dedicated funding, Wilson said the state’s Human Trafficking Task Force is better equipped to fill in those knowledge gaps.

The money is being used to:

  • create uniform bylaws for regional task forces

  • provide a consistent standard of care

  • increase staffing to improve response times and increase the number of investigations

  • create a human trafficking prosecutor’s position within Wilson’s agency

  • hire an investigator and victim advocate

  • hire statisticians

  • promote educational initiatives in schools, youth groups and among vulnerable populations

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