Rural communities often rely on close-knit relationships and strong social ties as an informal safety network, where trust plays a central role.
Social worker and human rights activist Sherna Alexander Benjamin said this helps explain why murdered 12-year-old Mercedez Layne’s grandfather may have felt comfortable placing her in a private hire vehicle.
“There are no transportation that are registered, the majority of transportation is PH and they are based on relationships deeply embedded in how the community functions day to day. So what exists is something powerful in its own right and it must not be judged. It’s a web of social relationships, shared history and mutual accountability. People who know the driver’s route, they know whose family he belongs to, they have seen him show up every morning for years picking up people in the community.”
Ms. Benjamin noted that while people used to walk alone for long distances, things are different now as society has changed.
“The normalisation of predatory behaviour in the context of the online culture and the ease with which people with harmful intentions can now operate anonymously or with reduced community visibility. The second issue with that is the decline of the physical presence of community watchers. Years ago you had people watching out in a genuine way for children and for others within the communities.”
Ms. Benjamin said that, in addition, children are being exposed to adult exploitation at younger ages—driven by technology and weakening child-protection norms. This makes finding solutions to rural crime difficult, as they require changing long-standing social practices.