Behind the Rise of Human Trafficking in the Birmingham Area

By Alaina Bookman | abookman@al.com This is another installment in Birmingham Times/AL.com/CBS42 joint series “Beyond the Violence: what can be done to address Birmingham’s rising homicide rate.” Sign up for the newsletter here. Justin Bowlin, a Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office investigator, said he is seeing a rise locally in human trafficking cases both because the industry is profitable and because of the increase in awareness and resources for people to report. “We do get calls often about potential cases. I do think that the number is going up because of the outreach that is being done. Awareness is getting out there,” Bowlin said. Dothan residents Marilyn McFalls and her two granddaughters are human trafficking survivors fighting for the protections of others like them. In 2021, McFalls created Tassel to the Left, an advocacy program to help other victims of human trafficking and those in need of mental health resources, to continue to help herself and her granddaughters heal. “When you put your tassel to the left, you graduate and you move forward in life. I endured sex trafficking myself. I endured abuse as a child myself. And so I’ve never believed in myself, I never believed that I could...