Rape Crisis Center program helped 72 human trafficking victims

The Rape Crisis Center’s Resources and Integration for Survivor Empowerment, or RISE, program helped 72 human trafficking victims in the first six months of 2020, the center said in a statement Thursday.

The program, which launched this year, is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice and provides 24/7 services to victims of human trafficking by expanding the law enforcement response hotline and training law enforcement and volunteers.

“Of the 72 victims served by the RCC, 58 were sex trafficking victims and 33 were labor trafficking victims, with some clients experiencing both forms of exploitation,” the statement read. “The ages of the victims ranged between 13 and 71, and the average age was 27 years old,” the statement read, adding that most victims were female.

Daniele Staple, executive director of the Rape Crisis Center, said data from the first six months of the program shows that women and girls of color are disproportionately vulnerable to sexual assault and domestic violence. According to the center’s statement, 33 percent of those helped by the RISE program were Black, 28 percent were white, 25 percent were Hispanic and 4.7 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander.

“Exploitation is the next step on the continuum of violence that we work so hard to prevent,” Staple said in the statement. “We strive to educate the community to prevent interpersonal violence, and when that is not possible, to impart services at the earliest opportunity to help people heal and keep them from experiencing additional trauma, violence and victimization throughout their lives.”

The Rape Crisis Center’s 24/7 hotline is 702-366-1640. For more information, visit rcclv.org.

Contact Alexis Ford at aford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexisdford on Twitter.