A New Creation, a shelter for victims of human trafficking, has opened in Rock Hill. On Nov. 7, Nancy Landerman, the creator, founder and executive director of A New Creation, spoke to students about the realities of human trafficking and the dangers present in the Rock Hill area.
“Human trafficking is a modern day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act,” Landerman said.
Landerman said that A New Creation will work with victims of all ages and genders to help get them out of those situations and offer them a new chance at life.
“We rescue and recover victims of human trafficking. Whether that be sexual exploitation or whether that be labor trafficking. When you think of human trafficking, don’t think that it’s just a female issue. It is not. We have just as many male issues as we do female issues,” Landerman said.
The effects of human trafficking can be devastating, according to Landerman. She said that a woman at A New Creation had been trafficked for 16 years, leaving her psychologically damaged.
“We rescued a girl right here in Rock Hill. She was 13 years old when she got into the life. The ‘life’ is when I say trafficking. We rescued her at 29 years old. She has been in the life from 13 to 29. When we rescued her at 29 years old, she still had the mentality of a 13–year–old. She worked for the entire week just to have cereal, milk and cartoon time on Saturday mornings,” Landeman said.
Charlotte is the number one area for human trafficking in the country, Landerman said.
“We have a wonderful infrastructure. We have a big hub for the airport. We have highways and byways that lead everywhere. They use the Charlotte area as their main hub of transportation in and out,” Landerman said.
She also said that a majority of those who are trafficked are not kidnapped, but are trafficked by someone they know.
“85 percent of the people who are trafficked are not taken unlawfully, which means they are not kidnapped. It’s by somebody they know, somebody they met on the street, somebody they met through a friend. 5 percent of people are kidnapped,” Landerman said.
In order to stay safe, Landerman said that people should turn off their location on apps, and simply be mindful of where they are and who is around them.
“Please monitor your electronics. Keep your passwords safe. Don’t talk to people online that you do not know. Turn off your location app. Don’t have your location turned on; they’re following you through your apps,” Landerman said.
According to Landerman, those who are being trafficked will show signs of their situation. Landerman offered some indicators of trafficking to help identify victims such as having stopped attending classes, sudden or dramatic changes in behavior, being disoriented or confused, having bruises, becoming fearful, timid or submissive, living in unsuitable conditions and being isolated from peers and community.
“Not all of these indicators are present in human trafficking situations. The presence or absence of the indicators is not necessarily proof of human trafficking. If you feel something, see something, say something,” Landerman said.
