According to the 2022 South Carolina Human Trafficking Annual Report, Greenville, Charleston, Richland, Horry, and Spartanburg counties are where the most human trafficking cases are being reported. Additionally, the report says The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) supported 416 cases involving human trafficking, including 399 minor victims and 17 adults.

Feb. 8 marks the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, the patron saint of human trafficking survivors. Bakhita was born in Sudan in 1869. She was sold several times as a slave beginning at the age of 7 or 8. Later in life, she became a Cannosian nun and declared a state in 2000.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston honors the life and legacy of St. Josephine by supporting those organizations that assist victims, including Bon Secours St. Francis Catholic hospital in Greenville. 

Bon Secours St. Francis uses a “housing first” model known as Jasmine Road – a comprehensive medical and psychological healthcare housing program centered on spiritual intervention. Through partnering with independent organizations and government agencies, the goal is three-pronged: first to rescue, then recover and finally restore victims of trafficking. By meeting the hierarchical needs of victims – including detox from opioids, food, housing, intervention, therapy, reintegration into the community, and job preparation — the team at Bon Secours helps transform the lives of trafficking survivors.

“Our mission as Catholics is to respond to God’s call,” said Deacon Alex Garvey, a medical doctor and vice president of mission at Bon Secours. “We are God’s people responding to the urgent call to take care of God’s people.”

Pope Francis has rightly called sex trafficking a “crime against humanity.” The Catholic Church supports efforts that aim to protect minors who have been coerced or forced into the sex trafficking industry, and to provide affirmative defense of and expungement for these young victims.