Vowing to go after the “scum that are preying on very vulnerable people,” Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine relaunched a statewide commission working to combat human trafficking in Ohio last week.
The state’s renamed “Human Trafficking Commission” had its first meeting last Monday, picking up where predecessor Richard Cordray left off last year. The former Trafficking in Persons Study Commission compiled a series of reports on people in Ohio who have been or are at risk of being forced into prostitution and other illegal labor activities, and suggested
recommendations for dealing with the issue.
In that group’s executive summary “four factors that may increase the risk to youth in Ohio were identified, including
(1) Ohio’s weak response to trafficking victims, (2) evidence that first responders to human trafficking in Ohio were unaware and unprepared, (3) customers who purchase youth remain protected, receiving minimal charges and rarely being prosecuted in Ohio in any significant way, while traffickers suffer minimal consequences, and (4) high rates of vulnerable youth in Ohio.” The need for better data collection & analysis was also noted. ( Full Report Here )
Celia Williamson, a University of Toledo researcher, echoed the lack of solid statistics in this area in a Toledo Blade article, also last week, saying an effort was under way with a study to interview trafficking victims. Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati are current part of the study, with Williamson hoping to add at least four more cities to the mix.
The Blade article also mentions State Rep. Teresa Fedor’s, a commission member, having introduced a “safe harbor” type bill last June in which a minor would not be charged with prostitution if he or she was under duress or coercion at the time of the crime, but would be provided “appropriate services,” including the development of procedures for “reuniting the minor with family members in the minor's country of origin or destination country.” (See HB 262 )
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