ONN News Article Featuring Theresa and Tabitha Woodruff
August 2, 2010 by Katie
Filed under Newsletter, Recent Press: Human Trafficking, TV
Theresa is interviewed about her experiences; Tabitha explains pending Ohio legislation (currently Ohio is one of just 14 states without anti-human trafficking laws in place)
Read entire ONN News Article:
Ohio one of Worst States for Human Trafficking Laws
July 26, 2010 by Katie
Filed under Newsletter, Recent Press: Human Trafficking
Ten Worst States, according to Polaris Project:
- Alaska
- Colorado
- Hawaii
- Massachusetts
- Ohio
- South Caroline
- South Dakota
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
States are evaluated on the strength and inclusion of statutes on: 1) Sex trafficking 2) Labor trafficking 3) Assett forfeiture for human trafficking crimes 4) Training on human trafficking for law enforcement 5) Human trafficking commision, task force or advisory committee 6) Posting of a human trafficking hotline 7) Safe harbor 8) No requirement for force fraud or coercion for minors 9) Victim assistance 10) Civil remedy
2010 TIP Report
June 15, 2010 by Katie
Filed under Newsletter, Print, Recent Press: Human Trafficking
Here is the link for the 2010 Tip Report:
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/142979.pdf
“The Report, for the first time, includes a ranking of the United States based on the same standards to which we hold other countries. The United States takes its first-ever ranking not as a reprieve but as a responsibility to strengthen global efforts against modern slavery, including those within America. This human rights abuse is universal, and no one should claim immunity from its reach or from the responsibility to confront it.” (H. Clinton)
According to UNICEF, as many as two million children are
subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade.
International covenants and protocols obligate criminalization
of the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The use of
children in the commercial sex trade is prohibited under both
U.S. law and the Palermo Protocol as well as by legislation in
countries around the world. There can be no exceptions and
no cultural or socioeconomic rationalizations preventing the
rescue of children from sexual servitude. Sex trafficking has
devastating consequences for minors, including long-lasting
physical and psychological trauma, disease (including HIV/
AIDS), drug addiction, unwanted pregnancy, malnutrition,
social ostracism, and possible death.Page 13, 2010 TIP Report
Case Study: United States:
Harriet ran away from home when she was 11 years
old and moved in with a 32-year-old man who sexually
and physically abused her and convinced her to
become a prostitute. In the next two years, Harriet
became addicted to drugs and contracted numerous
sexually transmitted diseases. The police arrested
Harriet when she was 13 and charged her with committing
prostitution. They made no efforts to find her
pimp. Harriet was placed on probation for 18 months
in the custody of juvenile probation officials. Her
lawyers have appealed the decision, arguing that since
she could not legally consent to sex, she cannot face
prostitution-related charges.
Page 30, 2010 TIP Report
Report: Victim services lacking in human-trafficking cases
June 10, 2010 by Katie
Filed under Newsletter, Print, Recent Press: Human Trafficking
Residential treatment vital, commission says
By Alan Johnson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The story of a 14-year-old girl from rural Ohio might sound like the plot of a bad movie, but it’s a real-life human-trafficking horror story.
The girl was befriended by an older man who plunged her into sex trafficking in a nearby city. When she was arrested in a hotel with another older man, police charged her with a curfew offense that was a probation violation and sent her to a juvenile-detention center. The “john” and the trafficker were not charged.
“It was a very sad thing to see this little girl in handcuffs and ankle shackles,” said a victims’ advocate who interviewed the girl.
Because no services were available to her, she disappeared when she was released from detention.
Advocates said the girl’s tragic story, recounted at a meeting of the Ohio Trafficking in Persons Study Commission yesterday, underlines a critical need for services for sex- and labor-trafficking victims.
The commission convened by Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray nearly a year ago said the state should prop up inadequate victim services by spending $4million to hire specially trained case managers, establishing 10 residential-treatment programs across the state, and training law-enforcement and social-service personnel.
“These stories – and there are thousands out there – are tragic,” Cordray said. “Each case represents a failure in our system. … I strongly urge local law enforcement and victim advocates to work in tandem with our program to confront modern slavery.
“We are all out of excuses.”
In its third major report, the multi-agency commission concluded that trafficking-victim services are woefully inadequate or completely absent. For example, the state has no residential treatment facilities (one is planned to open in the Columbus area this fall), and only five agencies in Ohio provide specific services to trafficking victims.
Dr. Jeff Barrows, a commission member and the founder of Gracehaven, the Columbus-area residential program scheduled to open this fall, said such programs should receive first priority.
“If they need residential care in the long run and don’t get it, you really haven’t done much of anything,” he said.
The only cost calculated so far is $77,000 apiece for salary and benefits for 52 specially trained case managers, a total of $4 million.
The task force suggested that funding could come from federal victims-assistance programs, the U.S. Justice Department, programs for victims of crime and violence against women, private foundations, churches and the public.
The panel also called for improving services to victims provided by emergency first-responders, building anti-trafficking coalitions across the state, and offering trauma therapy and legal assistance.
Another suggestion was tapping Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social media to provide trafficking awareness and potentially to track victims.
The commission previously estimated that more than 1,000 children younger than 18 were sex-trafficking victims in Ohio in the past year and that thousands more, particularly runaways, are at risk. Nearly 800 foreign-born people were trafficked for sex or forced labor in Ohio, and 3,437 were at risk, the commission reported.
The panel also strongly recommended replacing Ohio’s admittedly weak human-trafficking law with one making trafficking a felony offense as 44 other states do.
Legislation has been introduced in both the Ohio Senate and House. Cordray said he hopes lawmakers will approve a new law by the end of the year.
House Bill 493 – Take Action!
June 3, 2010 by Katie
Filed under Awareness, Newsletter, Recent Press: Human Trafficking
The Ohio House of Representatives is now considering important legislation to combat human trafficking. Please join us in taking action to support HB493 to criminalize human trafficking and punish criminals who exploit others for profit in Ohio. Ohio is one of only five states without human trafficking laws!
Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person to provide labor, services, or commercial sex against their will. It is a form of modern-day slavery, and it affects both foreign nationals and American citizens. The federal government has estimated that 14,500-17,500 foreign nationals are brought into the United States every year for the purpose of exploitation either for sex or for labor. Experts estimate that 100,000 American children are victims of prostitution each year. All of these people are victims of human trafficking.
Human Trafficking in Ohio
A recent study released by the Ohio Attorney General Trafficking in Persons Research Commission estimates that there are more than 750 foreign national human trafficking victims who are brought to Ohio for forced labor or commercial sex. The study also estimates that more than 1, 000 American children between the ages of 12-17 become human trafficking victims for the purpose of commercial sex in Ohio every year.
Ohio is a transit, destination, and source state for human trafficking victims. Two recent cases highlight the fact that human trafficking exists in Ohio. In December 2009, Alan Townsend pled guilty to federal child sex trafficking charges after luring a 14 year old with promises of a modeling career. Townsend transported the minor from Ohio to Florida where he intended to prostitute her for profit. Townsend faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years to life in prison. Also in December 2009, two Ohio men, Robert Harris and Richard Johnson, pled guilty to sex trafficking by force and other prostitution-related crimes after transporting women and children, including a 16- year-old victim from Ohio, to Maryland for the purpose of prostitution. The two men were sentenced to 15 years in prison a piece. A third Ohio man in the case, Craig Allen Corey II—a private first class in the Army—recently pled guilty and was sentenced 17 years in prison.
HB493: To Amend Sections of the Revised Code Relative to Trafficking in Persons
Representative Kathleen Chandler introduced HB493 to create a new felony offense of human trafficking—allowing prosecutors to target traffickers with a stronger law, instead of stitching together other crimes in order to punish them.
HB493 also:
• Increases penalty of compelling prostitution of minors under 16 to a first degree felony
• Requires that child victims receive appropriate services
• Requires the posting of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (hotline)
• Requires training of law enforcement
• Click here for more provisions in HB493
HB493 has bipartisan co-sponsorship from 22 representatives: Williams, B., Pillich, Newcomb, Lehner, Driehaus, Harris, Letson, Hagan, Lundy, Skindell, Foley, Yuko, Fende, Winburn, Stewart, DeGeeter, Garland, Derickson, Harwood, Brown, Pryor, Mallory.
HB493 is a step in the right direction toward comprehensively addressing human trafficking in Ohio. HB493 will make it clear that modern-day slavery will not be tolerated in Ohio.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Please take a moment to call your Representative’s office and urge them to support and vote YES on HB493. If your representative is on the Criminal Justice Committee, your call is even more critical! Here is an example of what you can say, but please personalize your message:
“Hi, my name is [ ], and I am a constituent living at [ ]. I am calling to urge [ ] to vote YES on anti-human trafficking legislation. HB493 will criminalize trafficking in persons as a 2nd degree felony and define involuntary servitude in order to comprehensively combat human trafficking in Ohio. Ohio should join the federal government and 44 other states to address this serious human rights violation. Will the Representative support this important legislation?”
- After you make your call, please follow up with an email - just click here! Be sure to personalize your message for the greatest impact, state your message of what you would like them to do, and thank them for their time.
- Please take a moment to contact Chairman Timothy J. DeGeeter of the Criminal Justice Committee. Chairman DeGeeter is able to decide whether HB493 will advance, so please make a quick call to urge him to support HB493.
- Please urge everyone you know to contact their Representatives and ask them to vote yes on this important human trafficking legislation.
If you should have any questions or have heard back from your senators about these bills, please email Kathleen Davis atkdavis@polarisproject.org.
Links to Reports:
Polaris Project Ohio Report
Ohio Attorney General Trafficking in Persons Research Commission Report
The Rand Report
Columbus Dispatch Article
Letter to Your Legislators
May 20, 2010 by Katie
Filed under Awareness, News and Events, Newsletter, Program Progress, Recent Press: Human Trafficking
Hello everyone!
Here is a letter discussing both S.B. 235 and H.B. 493, which will make
human trafficking a felony under Ohio law. For more information on either
bill, please contact me. This letter is based off the letter drafted by
Sen. Fedor’s aide. I delivered 100 or so of these letters to
representatives and senators in the Ohio legislature a couple weeks ago.
Although the legislature will go into recess in June and stay in recess
until September or even as late as November, we can spend all summer having
Ohio constituents sign these letters! Once they come back from recess, we
can all deliver hefty stacks to their office reminding them that these two
important bills are still waiting for passage and that Ohio voters are
still waiting to see human trafficking become a felony under state law! Be
sure that people who sign these letters A) have an Ohio address, B) write
down that Ohio address, C) and, if they’d like, hand-write a person message
in the space provided above the signature line.
Please pass on this letter to any person or organization who’d be
interested in collecting signed letters. it’s very easy to gather letters
like this at fund-raisers and other events. These persons or organizations
can then return signed letters to me or handle delivery themselves. For
instructions on how to deliver these letters to the Ohio legislature (which
involves the tedious task of figuring out which addresses are in which
district and thus which letters go to which legislators) please email me.
It’s important that these letters get to the right senators and
representatives where they will be most effective.
Thank you everyone!
Tabitha M. Woodruff
co-chair; lobbying committee
Central Ohio Rescue & Restore Coalition
Monday – Price of Life
April 19, 2010 by Katie
Filed under Awareness, Recent Press: Human Trafficking, Upcoming Events
There was a great article in today’s Columbus Dispatch about yesterday’s Parade of Tears – http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/04/19/copy/event-puts-focus-on-modern-slavery.html?adsec=politics&sid=101
There is an accompanying slide show as well – http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/multimedia/audio_slideshows/2010/04/parade_of_tears/index.html
TODAY:
10 AM – 4 PM (approximate times) –
* Proxe Stations at 17 locations all over campus – we have about 200 Proxe Station workers trained and ready to go!
* Human Illustrations
* exhibit tables in the Great Hall (lobby) of the Ohio Union — come talk with representatives from organizations like World Vision and Hagar International.
12:30 PM
Fair Trade: Fighting Human Trafficking Through Social Entrepreneurship
David Batstone and Brant Christopher speaking at Fisher College of Business
Gerlach Hall Room 375
As a part of the week-long “Price of Life Invitational,” this special engagement with David Batstone will be hosted by the Fisher Christian Fellowship at the Ohio State University School of Business. David Batstone is a professor of Ethics at the University of San Francisco, he is also founder and president of Right Reality, an international social venture firm. Batstone has authored seven books, the two most recent being Not For Sale (HarperOne) and Saving the Corporate Soul (Jossey-Bass). He was a member of the founding team of Business 2.0 magazine and served six years as executive editor of Sojourners magazine and founder of the SojoMail e-zine. In Not For Sale, David oversees the strategic and financial opportunities, growth, and direction of NFSC. He often represents Not For Sale during the Stop Paying for Slavery Tour and co-teaches the entrepreneur course content in NFS Academy.
7 PM – Town Hall Meeting
“Breakthrough” on April 20th
April 15, 2010 by Katie
Filed under Recent Press: Human Trafficking, TV
Theresa Flores will be featured along with Linda Smith from Shared Hope in Rod Parsley’s “Breakthrough” show on April 20th.
Tune in to DAYSTAR at 6:30am, 2:30pm, or 8:00pm and WSFJ-51 (TBN) correct at 10:00am or 4:30pm.
*We believe that human trafficking is a worldwide problem, and takes the cooperation of concerned citizens at every level. Gracehaven partners with many organizations and churches with varying belief systems across the country to raise awareness around the horrors of human trafficking. You can click here to view our statement of faith.
Price Of Life Invitational
April 14, 2010 by Katie
Filed under Awareness, Newsletter, Recent Press: Human Trafficking, Upcoming Events
The Price of Life Invitational is just around the corner (April 18 – 23)!
Here’s a quick update.
The Price of Life website has just about everything you could want to know about the Invitational – www.priceoflife. org. It has video clips about human trafficking, schedules of events, info about the speakers who are coming to Columbus, a list of ways you can get involved, and much, much more!
The Parade of Tears is Sunday, April 18th starting at 3 PM on the west side of the new Ohio Union, 1739 N High St, 43210. David Batstone of Not for Sale will be our featured speaker. http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=YGAaWjsAOCA& NR=1
Please spread the word about the Invitational, and especially the Parade of Tears since that’s the kickoff event.
If your church or community group would be interested in hearing from one of the guests who will be visiting Columbus for the Invitational, contact Howard VanCleave at van-cleave.3@ osu.edu. You many never again have an opportunity like this — especially when their travel and lodging expenses are already covered! Many of the world’s leading anti-trafficking experts will be here, and they want to make the most of their time here in Columbus, so please don’t hesitate to take advantage of this opportunity. They may not be able to fulfil every request, but hey, “you have not
because you ask not!”
Quick list of needs:
- 10 x 10 canopy style tents to use for the Parade of Tears – RSVP to Jami Holzaepfel jamiann.h@gmail. com
- prize donations(which are used as very effective teaching tools) for the main event – RSVP to Paige Bailey paige.554@gmail. com and Vicki Parsell parsells@hotmail. com
- drivers who can pick up speakers at the airport and take them to their hotel – RSVP to Peggy Neilsen mrn49@earthlink. net
- hospitable people who live fairly close to campus and would like to provide lodging for visiting InterVarsity staff workers for a couple nights – RSVP to Peggy Neilsen mrn49@earthlink. net
A “God Story”
All along my prayer has been that God would do what only He can do in and through this Invitational. I keep saying, “This is His gig, not ours.” I’d love to tell you all of the many, many stories of how we’ve seen Him working as we’ve tried to follow His lead in putting this together. Here’s just one example of what He is doing.
We have wanted to have several “human illustrations” during the Invitational, especially along the Parade route. These would be human vignettes, people portraying the realities of human trafficking in ways that are shocking in a necessary sense but not crossing the line of what’s appropriate. We’ve suggested this to several groups, but it just hasn’t
been the right fit.
A couple weeks ago, a member of All Nations Christian Fellowship (ANCF), a campus area church that has a lot of internationals, contacted me and said that there are about 20 people there who would like to do this. They are a
multi-racial group, so they’ll be able to portray the global realities of trafficking, but they weren’t sure how to put this together. We needed someone with a theater background (but unlike the stereotypical right-brained theater person, they would need to be well-organized) , a person who would deeply understand trafficking, and ideally they would be
very sensitive and wise about handing the emotional issues that can come up through these kinds of portrayals.
Last week out of the blue I got an offer of help from a woman who has worked with trafficking victims, has a theater background but described herself as very organized, and is getting her master’s in Christian counseling! She was wondering if there was a role for her in the Invitational. Don’t you just love it when God puts the right people in the
right places?
Thank you again for standing up as a leader in this modern day abolitionist movement! He is asking each of us to bring our five loaves and two fish to Him in this, and it’s going to be exciting to see how He multiplies it!
Connie Anderson
OSU Price of Life Invitational Coordinator
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship – USA
POLInvitational@ aol.com
www.OSUPriceofLife. org
Help end modern-day slavery by donating to the Price of Life Human Trafficking Campaign at the Ohio State University.
All donations go to helping the work of the International Justice Mission, the Not for Sale Campaign, World Vision, Gracehaven House, and Hagar International.
Fox 8 I-Team: Sex Trafficking In Ohio
March 4, 2010 by Katie
Filed under Newsletter, Recent Press: Human Trafficking, TV
VERY powerful video! Watch it now.
http://www.fox8.com/videobeta/?watchId=26edab4b-a5de-41a9-bfb9-1fbbbda03552
