Due to inadequate legislation and inadequate training for rideshare drivers, the Grand Strand could easily become the site of a human trafficking horror story on the state’s northern border, an attorney stated on Wednesday.
Heading the sexual assault practice at Clarkson Law Firm, Tracey Cowan filed a 38-page lawsuit against Uber in York County on Wednesday. She claims that because the firm didn’t adopt safety measures, two 12-year-old children were driven across state boundaries and sexually assaulted.
“This is on Uber to stop. Uber knows this is happening. It has long known it was happening, but it refuses to enact basic, commonsense measures to ensure our children are safe,” Cowan stated. “Simply put, Uber is out to make a profit, and it doesn’t care who it hurts along the way.”
Up to 500 victims, the most of whom were juveniles who had been sexually abused, are involved in the 357 open human trafficking cases that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division reported last year.
Additionally, cases were opened in 40 jurisdictions, including 24 in Horry County, according to SLED data.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Lyft introduced a new tutorial program in February to assist drivers in North America in identifying signs of human trafficking. According to Cowan, Uber might do the following actions:
required anti-trafficking training for all drivers; zero tolerance policy for carrying minors without adult supervision; dashcams monitored in every Uber vehicle
“One of the problems with Uber’s business model is that it knows human trafficking is happening on its platform, and it knows that it’s a huge mechanism and instrument for human trafficking in this country, yet Uber does not require any of its drivers to complete even a little bit of training on how to identify and support potential trafficking victims,” Cowan stated.
Read Also: Connecticut Woman Dies Hours Before Sentencing for Husband’s Murder
Since 2019, Uber has not updated the portion of its website pertaining to human trafficking.
Cowan added that because business leaders have declined to identify the drivers, the lawsuit in the York County case designated the drivers as John Does.
“It’s easier than ever for traffickers to transport and essentially get their trafficking victims from one place to another,” Cowan stated. “I absolutely would not let my children ride in an Uber (alone), and I don’t think Uber executives would allow their children to ride in Ubers either.”
