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State Senator Fedor Blogs on Trafficking in Ohio
Ohio State Senator Theresa Fedor (D-Toledo), along with Senator David Goodman (R-Columbus) and Representative Kathleen Chandler (D-Kent), has and continues to play a crucial role in addressing human trafficking in Ohio. All three leaders have introduced legislation in Columbus to combat human trafficking and raise public awareness of its presence in Ohio.
Recently, Senator Fedor agreed to blog about her personal view of the situation in the State. Her comments serve as a reminder that trafficking in human beings is not just a problem in faraway Indonesia or eastern Europe, but also right here in the Midwest. Here’s her post:
On January 8, 2006 in a Toledo Blade article titled “Crackdown Exposes Toledo as a Hub of Teen Prostitution,” a federal investigator declared my hometown the “number one” recruitment location for underage girls for prostitution in the United States. No one in our community was aware that this was going on and to say that we were shocked is an understatement. If that quote is not enough to open my eyes and the eyes of other community leaders, we are in the wrong business.
As a result of The Blade’s work I dug into this issue and found Toledo’s title is only one piece of a developing problem around the state and the nation: human trafficking. Nearly every community in Ohio is affected by this underground crime. I began talking to community leaders, service providers, and law enforcement officers about this issue. To my dismay, I found few who had heard of human trafficking or knew how to identify this crime. Thus, I began to work to raise awareness and rally support for human trafficking legislation here on the state level.
Among the events I sponsored, I worked with the Freedom Center to bring the traveling exhibit “Invisible: Slavery Today” to The Statehouse. Fortunately, the exhibit has made an impact on thousands of people that visited the Statehouse and now more community efforts are beginning to emerge. Those of us who are passionate about making a difference in the lives of those in need are truly thankful to the Freedom Center for its leadership. It is so critically important to continue to raise awareness and provide the tools necessary to eliminate human trafficking in order to make our communities safer and protect our children.
I am dismayed that my city has the title “number one” recruitment location for underage prostitution. However, I am ready to combat those who commit trafficking with legislation here in Ohio. It is surprising that despite national human trafficking legislation, encouragement from federal authorities to pass human trafficking legislation, and human trafficking legislation in 39 other states, Ohio lags behind. Thus, I introduced Senate Bill 205 in the Ohio General Assembly to fight this crime and am working with interested parties to encourage my colleagues to pass this important legislation. I sincerely appreciate any efforts toward that end. Together, I believe we can end modern day slavery.
You can track the current status of HB15 (Chandler), SB23 (Goodman), and SB205 (Fedor).
