31:8 Project founder talks on how to spot situations of human trafficking

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - We don’t expect prominent people to make the headlines for human trafficking, but experts say the reality is human traffickers live and work among us.

Former North Dakota Senator Ray Holmberg was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for traveling to Prague in the Czech Republic to pay for sex with boys.

Holmberg participated in a practice called sex tourism, where someone travels to a foreign country intending to engage in sexual activity. Commonly, many of the people they are engaging with are victims of human, labor or sex trafficking.

Stacy Schaffer, founder and executive director of the 31:8 Project, said there are commonalities between the Holmberg case and other cases of human trafficking she has seen during her career as an advocate.

“Even though in the Ray Holmberg case, we’re talking about a lot of the things that happened internationally, those things are happening here locally as well, and I think that case shows us that it doesn’t matter who you are in the community; anybody could potentially be a trafficker, but anyone could be a victim,” said Schaffer.

Human trafficking can be difficult to spot, but there are some signs to look for, such as a person attempting to control someone else by controlling what they say or holding personal documentation that belongs to the other person.

According to Steps to Hope, 2024 saw 24,000 people in the United States fall victim to human trafficking, but how do we, as the public, help reduce these numbers?

“Educate yourself, learn the signs, and don’t turn a blind eye into thinking that it’s not here. It doesn’t have to be scary, though. When we recognize that there is that problem, we just need to equip ourselves with the tools to identify it and report it,” said Schaffer.

In 2024, the 31:8 Project assisted over 62 survivors of human trafficking.

Copyright 2025 KFYR. All rights reserved.