It will mark 1 month since Ohio Attorney General Cordray’s Trafficking in Person Study Commission published the Report on the Prevalence of Human Trafficking in Ohio, the first study of its kind.

March 11th is the day we will keep the issue of human trafficking fresh in the minds of our politicians, by sending them an email blast to ensure they know we’re still paying attention!

On March 2nd, 26 of 33 senators stepped up alongside Sen. Fedor to sponsor S.B. 235.  I am confident our last email blast may have had something to do with that.  Thank you!

S.B. 235 will allow Ohio to join the other 43 states that have made human trafficking a stand-alone felony under their state laws; it’s time for Ohio to address it’s rampant human trafficking problem by empowering local law enforcement with a state law instead of continually pushing these cases onto the FBI, scrambling to find some other crime to prosecute traffickers under, or ignoring these cases entirely.

As S.B. 235 enters the Criminal Justice Committee of the Ohio Senate, it enters a critical stage in the editing and amendment process.  Encourage your senators to continue supporting the bill by keeping it strong and comprehensive!

Find your Senator http://www.ohiosenate.gov/directory.html

———Sample Message Below————

Dear (Legislator’s Name),

As your constituent, I am writing to express my unequivocal support for the creation of a Human Trafficking felony in the Ohio Revised Code.  You have the opportunity to be a champion for vulnerable children by ensuring that S.B. 235 maintains strong, comprehensive language throughout the editing and amendment process.

Ohio must catch up to the 43 other states, which already have language in-line with the federal definition of human trafficking. The Columbus Dispatch recently reported that human trafficking is a rapidly growing and underreported problem affecting both inner cities and affluent suburbs in Ohio. [1] A new report released by a sub-committee of the Trafficking in Persons Study Commission estimated that over 1000 Ohio children are trafficked within our borders each year for the purpose of sex. It further reported that another 2,879 children are at-risk for being trafficked because of their vulnerable status as runaways, throwaways or due to homelessness. [2] According to a Rand Corporation report, Ohio has an alarmingly high number of child sex trafficking cases. [3]

You have the power to make positive change in the lives of vulnerable children through legislation. S.B. 235 will create a second-degree felony for this horrendous crime against Ohio’s children.  Law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and victim’s advocates agree – Ohio badly needs stronger laws addressing human trafficking.  Experts universally expressed this sentiment during the 1^st Annual Human Trafficking Awareness Day at the Statehouse in January. [ http://www.youtube.com/user/OhioSenateDemocrats#p/u/0/bDTljdyX-pg ].

S.B. 235 needs to remain in-line with the federal and Department of Justice’s definition of human trafficking, which has proven an effective tool for federal law enforcement.  Uncovering and prosecuting cases of human trafficking is a priority for the federal government and is considered a high level crime.  To date, the federal Innocence Lost Initiative has netted convictions of over 500 traffickers and rescued over 900 child victims of human trafficking. [4]

Will you be a champion for vulnerable children?  If so, ensure that S.B. 235 mirrors the federal definition of human trafficking and maintains its current strength.  I hope to see S.B. 235 become stronger and clearer throughout the amendment process, not weaker and more ineffective.  I trust you, as my representative, to make sure Ohio’s laws protect Ohio’s children.

Thank you.

(Your Name)

(Your Email)

(Your Hometown)

Cosponsors: Senators Cafaro, Miller, R., Schaffer, Jones, Smith, Hughes, Wagoner, Goodman, Strahorn, Sawyer, Widener, Carey, Schuring, Patton, Husted, Morano, Schiavoni, Turner, Wilson, Buehrer, Miller, D., Kearney, Stewart, Gibbs, Niehaus

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=128_SB_235

Spread the word and contact your local senator to ensure this bill becomes a law!

Find and contact your Ohio Senator ! http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/

More than 1,000 children younger than 18 were sex-trafficking victims in Ohio during the past year, according to the first statewide report on the subject by the Ohio Trafficking in Persons Study Commission.

Runaways were particularly at risk: One in three who have been gone from home for two weeks or longer are at serious risk of being trafficked for sex, the Report on the Prevalence of Human Trafficking in Ohio concluded.

The findings released yesterday by Attorney General Richard Cordray showed that in addition to the youth victims, an estimated 783 foreign-born people were trafficked for sex or forced labor in Ohio in the past year; another 3,437 were at risk.

Although most of the youth victims were girls, boys also were trafficked, the report said, noting that 95 percent of the commercial sex trade with boys involves adult males.

The numbers might be surprising to people who don’t know what trafficking is or that it’s a problem in Ohio. Several commission members said the victim estimate is conservative and in all likelihood low.

“As a researcher, I would rather have two years to work on this,” said Celia Williamson, a University of Toledo professor and trafficking expert who oversaw the study. “But we don’t have two years. There are victims out there right now in modern-day slavery.”

Teresa Flores, a commission member from suburban Columbus who was trafficked as a teenager, said the estimates definitely are low because they don’t include non-foreign women 18 to 24 years old, an age group that Flores said is frequently victimized.

Still, she said quantifying the problem for the first time “is what we need to communicate to the public that something needs to be done.”

Cordray appointed the high-powered panel based on the recommendation of the state’s human-trafficking law, which took effect last year. The commission includes representatives from the FBI, state and local law enforcement and five state agencies, two state lawmakers, a Cleveland juvenile court judge and trafficking survivors from Columbus and Toledo.

A Dispatch examination of sex trafficking published last year before the commission’s creation confirmed that it is a growing, vastly underreported problem affecting both inner cities and affluent suburbs.

In compiling the report, the committee reviewed law-enforcement records, reports from victim-advocacy groups, immigration and other government agencies, other studies and news stories from eight major Ohio newspapers, including The Dispatch.

Michelle Hannan, head of the Central Ohio Rescue and Restore Coalition, said the group dealt with 35 trafficking victims in the past 18 months.

The Ohio report pinpointed the Toledo area as the fourth-highest metropolitan area — and top urban area per capita — for human trafficking cases. Only Miami; Portland, Ore.; and Las Vegas had more.

Among the commission’s preliminary findings: Ohio’s human-trafficking law is “weak” because it is not a stand-alone statute, merely adding human trafficking as a specification on top of other charges.

Disagreement raged within the commission between advocates who want a stand-alone law and the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, which favors amending current laws rather than creating a new one.

Cordray said he asked for a truce so the commission can agree on necessary changes, whether they become part of a new law or are incorporated into existing laws.

The study committee said Ohio’s first-responders remain “unaware and unprepared” to deal with trafficking cases; customers who purchase youths for sex “remain protected, receiving minimal charges and are rarely prosecuted”; and the state has a shortage of “safe houses” for trafficked youth.

We’ll be talking about what’s happening in Ohio and around the world and how you can help!

Interested in learning more about human trafficking in Ohio and around the world?  Want to know what we’re doing to help free slaves?  Want to help? 

Sure you do!!! 

Meet with us at 7pm on Thursday August 6th at the lovely Global Gallery Coffee Shop in Clintonville!

3535 N. High St.         
Columbus, Ohio 43214
Phone: 614-262-5535