It can happen to anyone. I know, because it almost happened to me.
I’m talking about human trafficking — modern-day slavery that exploits thousands of innocent Americans, even here in Toledo and the surrounding areas.
I was working a factory job when I noticed one of my male coworkers paying attention to me. He seemed kind and interesting, and we developed a friendship that turned flirtatious. He asked me to go out with him, suggesting fun outings such as ice skating and horseback riding. He even promised to bring his adorable little niece along, whom he’d talked about a lot and wanted me to meet.
But colleagues intervened. They told me he has bragged about being a pimp. I reported him to human resources. Nothing happened. It wasn’t until he grabbed another female employee and attempted to kidnap her that he was fired.
These things happen every day. Traffickers rarely snatch women off the streets, as they do in movies. They’re expert groomers, sometimes dating women or befriending children for months on end before they traffic them. The man who nearly abducted me was stupid enough to talk about his exploitative work with others, so I managed to avoid the unthinkable. Not everyone is so fortunate.
Ohio has made key advances in the fight against human trafficking. On the county level, Lucas County law enforcement officials are looking to expand the Drug Abuse Response Team to keep at-risk youth from falling prey to drug addiction or human trafficking. On the federal level, Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown are working with other senators on a bill to hold traffickers accountable for using drugs to coerce victims.
This is good work, but we cannot stop there. In 2018, the National Human Trafficking Hotline was contacted from Ohio 1,223 times, and in 372 of those instances, experts determined there was a high likelihood of a trafficking situation. Yet the Ohio Attorney General’s Office reports that only 80 arrests and 61 successful convictions occurred that same year. That means hundreds of innocents are still being exploited across our state.
Toledo is particularly vulnerable. It reports a higher volume of human-trafficking incidents than other, far larger cities. Between 2007 and 2016, Toledo made the 14th-highest number of calls per capita to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Sadly, these numbers make sense on some level: Our stagnant economic growth means that more people are in a feeble financial position and vulnerable to the get-rich-and-famous-quick lies of traffickers.
It’s time for us to take a stand. After learning more about trafficking, I joined the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking’s Abolitionist Project, a nationwide initiative that brings together concerned citizens to campaign for the end of modern-day slavery in America. I learned about what we all can do to end trafficking in our community. The first step is awareness: learning the signs of sex trafficking and what sort of locations traffickers frequently go to.
The second is preparing yourself for action by putting the National Human Trafficking Hotline’s number in your phone, so that when you do encounter a trafficking situation, you’ll be ready to let the authorities know. The third is taking action and making the call.
And if you represent an organization, the final step is committing your group or entity to become a TraffickingFree Zone. A TraffickingFree Zone is a program run by USIAHT that implements demand-reduction techniques in schools, companies, cities, and counties. Its impact is remarkable: When several cities and counties in Florida decided to become TraffickingFree Zones, more than 2,000 community members, 1,400 law enforcement officials, and 10,000 students were educated about trafficking. Five hundred and sixty-four sex buyers were deterred and 12,545 sex buyers seeking to change their ways sought help via the program’s website.
The only path toward eliminating sex trafficking altogether is to end the demand. Many people watch porn, but few of them know that they’re likely watching trafficked victims forced to perform against their will. And even if the performers aren’t trafficked, their acts still degrade sexuality and teach us to see each other as objects, an attitude associated with sexual coercion.
Until all Lucas County becomes a TraffickingFreeZone, until we all look out for our neighbors, until we all reject content made from exploitation and abuse, until we all see one another as human beings worthy of dignity and respect, I urge you to join me. Together, we can make our city a safe and free place for all.
The writer, of Oregon, now works in industry as a security/fire officer.
First Published August 31, 2019, 4:00 a.m.
