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Our Voice
“RCA Is Who We Are; Social Action Is What We Do. "
According to Rights4Girls (2016), FBI data reported Black children comprise 57% of all juvenile prostitution arrest. Moreover, in a two-year review of all suspected human trafficking incidents in the U.S., Black children made up 40% of sex trafficking victims (Rights4Girls, 2016). RCA’s social action committee hosted “Let’s Talk About Human Trafficking: Taking a Closer Look. ” Our goal was to increase awareness of child sex trafficking in South Carolina by addressing the systems that impact children to include: the legal, healthcare, and child caring agencies.
The virtual forum was held on Saturday, April 17th from 10 am -12 pm. The moderator for this event was Marisa Glover, LMSW; the panelists included: Richland County Family Court Judge the Honorable Gwendlyne Y. Jones, Child Trafficking Program Coordinator, Office of Child Health and Wellbeing with the South Carolina Department of Social Services Jennequia (Nikki) Brown, BSW Program Director/Associate Professor with Winthrop University Department of Social Work Dr. Monique Constance-Huggins, Director of Doors to Freedom Becky Bonavida, Coroner from Richland County Coroner’s Office Naida Rutherford, Volunteer Recruitment/Training Manager with the Richland County Court Appointed Special Advocates Program Alexis W. Scurry, LMSW. Our knowledgeable panelists brought their passion and were able to provide an in-depth view of the law, awareness, community involvement and advocacy of human trafficking in South Carolina, as it relates to the intersection of race, gender disparities, and trauma that victims and survivors encounter within the system of care.
Through feedback provided through a survey, all respondents reported that they would like to attend future virtual events on this topic or similar topics.
