Legislators, victim assistance programs address human trafficking epidemic

By: Megan Deierling, Andrea Siebert and Ryan Landolph

Human_Trafficking_Revised from Megan Deierling on Vimeo.

Human trafficking is becoming a significant issue across the country, especially in the state of Ohio.

“It is predicted that in 2021, (human trafficking) will be the number one crime in the world,” said Teresa Fedor, a member of the Ohio House of Representatives in the 45th district. “It has moved up from third place, when I started, to now second place (behind) drugs.”

In the past decade, efforts have ramped up in attempts to learn more about human trafficking. Members of government, as well as ministries, victim assistance programs and collaboratives, are focusing on educating themselves and the public about the premise of the problem.

“I think we need to be informed citizens, said Jan Apisa, the director of community engagement with the Victim Assistance Program in Akron. “We need to understand how this can happen. We need to know that it does happen. We want (to inform others of) human trafficking as what it looks like, what the red flags are and what you can do (to help).”

Human trafficking victims are not discriminated against – recruiters do not target one specific gender, race or socioeconomic status. Instead, the number one indicator of a person being at risk of being trafficked is neglect or vulnerability.

“If there is neglect in the home, a girl is vulnerable,” said Greg Colbeck, the director of operations at Rahab Ministries. “You can be rich and be neglected. You can be poor and be neglected.”

Representative Fedor agrees with Colbeck, adding that she has yet to find a group that is not affected by human trafficking, with the ultimate key being vulnerability.

Ohio has a large population that is vulnerable, as it is becoming a hotspot for human trafficking. According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, Ohio had the fourth-most human trafficking cases reported in the country in 2016.

There are many ideas as to why Ohio’s numbers are so high.

“Right here in Northeast Ohio, we have the (Pro) Football Hall of Fame, we have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we have casinos, we have major sports teams, we have the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament (and) we had the RNC,” said Colbeck. “We have major events that are bringing an influx of people – and any time you are bringing more people to an area, you are bringing the demand as well.”

Outside of these specific events and places, Colbeck notes that Ohio has a significant number of truck stops, as well as an intricate interstate system. He also said that sharing a border with Canada is another geological factor that leads to an increased number of human trafficking reports.

But Colbeck also believes there may be a better reason for why the human trafficking numbers are on the rise. Apisa, who is also the co-chair of the Summit County Collaborative Against Human Trafficking executive committee, agrees.

“We think those numbers may be increasing because of the education and the outreach that we are doing,” said Apisa. “So, people are becoming aware of what the National Human Trafficking Resource Center is and what they do. They are calling for their help because they know to call them. Because we have such high numbers, hopefully we are learning on how to get people the help that they need.”

Thanks to initiatives that have been led by Representative Fedor, everyone involved in working to solve this epidemic is becoming better informed and trained to find victims of human trafficking.

“When I started, 10 or 11 years ago, no one knew what this was, including me,” said Fedor. “It was certainly something that I had to learn a lot. I started out by putting a commission together through the Attorney General’s office. We needed to study the fault of the problem and make recommendations on what to do to begin.”

From there, Representative Fedor worked to make human trafficking a more serious crime in the state of Ohio. It is now a standalone felony in the revised Ohio code.

Following the revised crime agenda, Fedor moved toward focusing on the victims.

“In 2012, (we) passed a law called the ‘Safe Harbor Act,’ and that did three things,” said Fedor. “It was a victim-centered-approach … based on three tenants – prevention, protection and prosecution – designed to safeguard the human rights of trafficking survivors or victims.”

In addition to the Safe Harbor Act, Representative Fedor wrote House Bill 130, which came to be known as the ‘End Demand Act.’ It addressed the market-driven demand for sex trafficking, which increased the penalties for traffickers and users, while providing more protection for victims.

Apisa is impressed with what Fedor has done in terms of enacting legislation in Ohio to fight human trafficking.

“The initiatives that she’s (Fedor) taken at the state level to end this horrible atrocity is absolutely phenomenal,” said Apisa. “She (Fedor) is at the forefront of fighting human trafficking.”

Along with the legislation that has been passed, organizations like Rahab Ministries and Victim Assistance are working with victims to assimilate them back into normal civilian life.

“Rahab offers direct services to women and now, young girls, in the Akron area,” said Colbeck. “We have grown to offer those same services to women in the Northeast Ohio area and surrounding states as well. We do everything from walking the streets to meeting a woman who might be sold for sex to offer her a hot meal, some clothing, a place to stay or all the way up through providing long-term residential care for women who are victims of sex trafficking.”

Currently, Rahab is serving about 500 women and children per month. They also have ten beds at their safe house, where victims can stay for up to two years at a time.

“We are seeing a lot of women, so we hope that the funding source will continue to be available,” said Colbeck. “These women deserve some kind of services and some kind of treatment.”

Like Rahab, Victim Assistance provides assistance to victims of sex trafficking.

“If somebody calls in and needs help, the advocates would help them first and foremost with their personal safety and security,” said Apisa. “So, (that means) getting them somewhere that is safe and then helping them establish where they need to go from here. Victims of trafficking have long-term recovery, and it is a very holistic approach.”

Victim Assistance also has a guide that the Summit County Collaborative Against Human Trafficking created, which gives a “memorandum of understanding for many service providers in the area that can provide the best service standards for trafficking victims,” according to Apisa.

The guide is then used if the victim needs medical treatment, counseling or any other types of things that are included in the resource guide.

Ultimately, it is going to take a conducive effort in order to stop what Representative Fedor believes is the “human rights violation of our lifetime.”

Citizens can join different coalitions or collaboratives that have been established in every county in the state of Ohio. Also, people can simply stay informed and inform their children of the risks of human trafficking.

The issue of human trafficking is likely affecting more than what just meets the eye, as it is possible that one may know a victim or become a victim one day. The importance of that is what drives many people to keep working toward a solution.

“I cannot make anybody care about something, but hopefully, if we share enough stories and the awareness gets out there, then it will strike a chord and want to make a change,” said Colbeck.

What do you know about human trafficking in Ohio? Learn more about this serious epidemic here: #RPP https://t.co/CO0IXUdwWJ

— Ryan Landolph (@Ryan_Landolph) March 2, 2017

Human trafficking is a growing problem in Ohio. Learn about warning signs, who the advocates are, and how to help. https://t.co/cCwCenvcrB

— Megan Deierling (@m_deierlingTV2) March 2, 2017