News
House calls on Cooper to secure NC amid border crisis
72 Republicans in the North Carolina House sent a letter to Gov. Cooper on Wednesday urging him to stand in solidarity with Texas.
News
Advocacy group says NC scores better than most in fighting sex trafficking
A new report card from the nonprofit Shared Hope International gives North Carolina a “D” grade among the 50 states on preventing sex trafficking. But that ranking still puts the Tar Heel State at 16th best in the nation. North Carolina scored better than 32 other states that received an “F” grade. The top-performing states are Tennessee with an...
News
New law allows more trafficking victims to draw compensation
A provision in the N.C. Senate’s anti-human trafficking bill, recently passed and signed into law, allows more human trafficking victims to collect compensation under the Crime Victims Compensation Act. More provisions in the bill, including tighter penalties for rioting, go into effect later this year.
News
Senator touts N.C. budget’s measures to attack human trafficking
A state senator is drawing attention to the new N.C. state budget’s measures to fight human trafficking. The budget “provides a lifeline to victims” of trafficking, according to a news release from Sen. Ted Alexander, R-Cleveland. “Human trafficking is all too prevalent in North Carolina,” Alexander said. “We have the means to both combat this...
News
House Judiciary Committee approves anti-trafficking bill
A new bill to fight human trafficking has begun moving through House committees of the General Assembly. The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, March 13, unanimously approved House Bill 198, “Human Trafficking Commission Recommendations.” The bill’s primary sponsors are Reps. Ted Davis, R-New Hanover; Sarah Stevens, R-Wilkes; Steve Jarvis, R-Davidson; and Jerry Carter, R-Rockingham. The...
News
Anti-trafficking legislation would offer post-conviction relief to survivors
This isn’t Taken. Unlike the portrayals popularized by Liam Neeson’s 2008 film thriller, human trafficking victims are rarely snatched during vacation getaways or from coffee shops, and they are rarely sympathetic characters with squeaky clean backgrounds, Libby Coles, chairwoman of the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission, told Carolina Journal. This year, Coles and the trafficking...
News
Bill would help protect victims who are forced to help human traffickers
Victims of human trafficking can feel mistreated in the North Carolina justice system, facing charges for offenses they committed while under the influence of coercion and deception, state policymakers say. A new bill, which passed the N.C. General Assembly on June 15 and is awaiting Gov. Roy Cooper’s signature, could change that. Senate Bill 162,...
News
Federal law tackling online sex trafficking gets mixed reviews
A bill to crackdown on sex trade websites is now federal law — but not all anti-trafficking experts back the measure. On Tuesday, April 11, President Trump signed the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, a bill to block the proliferation of modern sex slavery. The law criminalizes “promotion or facilitation of prostitution,” and “reckless disregard...
News
CJ’s Kari Travis awarded Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship
RALEIGH — Carolina Journal Associate Editor Kari Travis has been named a recipient of the prestigious Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship. The program, which is affiliated with The Fund for American Studies, awards grants to fund a major, year-long investigative journalism project. Travis will divide time reporting for CJ and working on her Novak Fellowship project....
News
Pair teaching art of self-defense to give potential victims more options
CHARLOTTE — Travis Cook held his hands by his chest. Fists clenched. Arms together. Cassie Wilson bound his wrists in layer after layer of duct tape. About 30 students — women, men, and teenagers — looked on, faces sweating in the muggy air of Urban Revolution Martial Arts, a small taekwondo studio in south Charlotte. “There...
Podcast
N.C. officials place increased focus on human trafficking
From Carolina Journal Radio Program No. 740: North Carolina lawmakers and law enforcement agencies are focusing increased attention on the problem of human trafficking. The latest Carolina Journal cover package details those efforts. Editor-in-Chief Rick Henderson explains how state legislation approved this year targets trafficking in new ways. Henderson also shares personal stories from trafficking...
Podcast
Carolina Journal Radio No. 740: N.C. focuses on fighting human trafficking
North Carolina lawmakers and law enforcement agencies are focusing increased attention on the problem of human trafficking. The latest Carolina Journal cover package details those efforts. Editor-in-Chief Rick Henderson explains how state legislation approved this year targets trafficking in new ways. Travis also shares personal stories from trafficking victims. A controversial proposal from Washington, D.C.,...
