Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month
WHEREAS, human trafficking involves the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, buying or selling of human beings for their services of labor or commercial sex through the use of force, fraud or coercion; and
WHEREAS, human trafficking violates basic human rights and deprives victims of human dignity and freedom; and
WHEREAS, human trafficking is a national problem, with North Carolina being ranked ninth in the country for prevalence in human trafficking; and
WHEREAS, in Pitt County the Pitt County Human Trafficking Multidisciplinary Team responds to local victimization at increasing rates;
WHEREAS, sex buyers are the reason that children and adults are being groomed and recruited by traffickers into the exploitative sex industry; and
WHEREAS, our community must hold accountable those people who purchase sex, exploit workers, and those people who look the other way; and
WHEREAS, the Pitt County Coalition Against Human Trafficking seeks to eradicate human trafficking by empowering organizations and individuals through collaboration, leadership and training; and
WHEREAS, NC Stop Human Trafficking, ECU Health, Daughters of Worth, Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, the Greenville Police Department, the Center for Family Violence Prevention, and many other organizations are active members of the Pitt County Coalition Against Human Trafficking/Pitt County Human Trafficking Multidisciplinary Team; and
WHEREAS, Pitt County is committed to protecting people vulnerable to human trafficking and acting to end human trafficking by holding the sex buyers and traffickers accountable; and
WHEREAS, the Pitt County Courthouse cupola was lit blue on Sunday, January 11, 2026 to observe Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Pitt County Board of Commissioners, do hereby proclaim January 2026 as “Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month” in Pitt County and commend its observance to all citizens.