COLUMBUS, Ohio - Human trafficking is not only a popular story line on police dramas on television; it also is a growing crime in Ohio as well as around the world. An estimated 1,000 children in Ohio are at risk of being forced into the sex trade each year, and law enforcement experts say the Internet is compounding the problem.

Theresa Flores of Columbus was trafficked out of her own home at age 15. After two years, she says, her family moved and she was able to escape. Now, she works to help other survivors, who she says are often blamed for what has happened to them.

"These kids go through horrors you can't even imagine. I mean, having to have sex with 10 to 15 strangers every night; nobody chooses to do that. And we've mislabeled it 'teen prostitution,' putting the blame on these kids."

Flores says more needs to be done to get survivors the help they need and to prevent others from becoming victims.

Crystal Ward Allen heads the Public Children's Services Association of Ohio, and says they're working to educate those who work in child welfare, juvenile justice and law enforcement about the problem of human trafficking. She says it's crucial to raise awareness, so survivors receive the proper care.

"Not only do we want to make sure that these young girls, primarily, are treated as victims, we also want to coordinate our efforts with law enforcement, because it is very critical that we prosecute the criminal."

While many victims are runaways, children who have been abused or are in the juvenile-justice system, Theresa Flores says that's just part of the problem. She says youth from any neighborhood can be trafficked.

"Middle-class suburban kids that come from even a two-parent family, and have this older boyfriend that is just telling them everything they want to hear, saying, 'If you love me you'll do this,' or threatens them or blackmails them, and so it was in my case."

Flores is a founder of Gracehaven House, a shelter for child sex-trafficking victims. She also created a campaign called "SOAP" - Saving Our Adolescents from Prostitution - to bring awareness of the problem to hotel owners and managers.

Ohio Governor John Kasich recently declared what he calls 'a war on the slave trade business' in the state and a new measure, House Bill 262, would help protect victims of trafficking from prosecution.

Statistics are at www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov




get more stories like this via email

Some Indigenous groups in Michigan want to draw parallels to their own historic struggles and those of Palestinians in Gaza and they are doing it through powerful artwork depicting dance.

One elaborate drawing shows a Native American and Palestinian woman dancing together.

The nonprofit Citizen's Resistance at Fermi Two said the group advocates for environmental causes and safety for all people, including tribal nations.

Jesse Deer in Water, the group's community organizer, said it was important to stand up for what they believe and, in his words, to "stop all forms of oppression."

"And I can identify with it, because it's happened to my people," Deer in Water explained. "The stuff that's happening currently on the West Bank is like what happened to my people in Georgia. We had no rights, and they just came in and, like, the settlers did whatever they want."

He added the group is concerned taxpayer dollars are being used for causes contributing to the struggles of the people of Gaza and those who live around the Fermi Two nuclear plant. Legislation in Congress to send more money to Israel is expected to pass in the U.S. Senate today.

Members of True Earth, a sister organization to Citizen's Resistance at Fermi Two helped select the artwork for the solidarity campaign, including the group's social media person, Nora Berry and graphic designer Maro Beauchamps.

Beauchamps called the pictures "a perfect depiction of beauty while in struggle," and said it is important to understand how the art tells a larger story.

"Two women that are dancing together, seeing the mirror in each other of the struggle, of the shared experiences and the shared traumas," Beauchamps outlined. "We often don't even see the women that are so critical and crucial to movements of resistance."

Shunahsii Rose, also with True Earth, sees another link between the nuclear controversy and the Middle East conflict.

"Both of them are a misuse of our dollars, huge misuse of our dollars," Rose contended. "Taking the money of hard-earned people and pouring it in terrible directions that only bring harm."

A recent report details how great wealth that later made philanthropy possible around the country but most evidently in the District of Columbia, southern Maryland and northern Virginia -- commonly known as the DMV -- came at the expense of the social stability and economic success of Black residents.

Dwayne Proctor, board chair of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, said older foundations likely had the best opportunity to participate in practices that were unfair and unjust to people because of the times they were in, in the social context in which they began.

"I'm hopeful that many folks will look toward their local foundations and want to know more about how they began and if they've done harm and participated in the oppression of others, like it appears to have been the case in the DMV with the foundations that are studied," Proctor said.

Proctor stressed that if readers can connect the overlaps between the social determinants of health and the necessary healing of Black families today, real and transformative conversations about repair can begin.

Katherine Ponce, research manager for special projects for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, said the report tried to model what the state of California has done for its reparations task force, outlining many categories of how Black people have faced disparities in the region and how that starts.

"We talked about anti-Black media and rhetoric, housing discrimination and segregation, unemployment and hidden opportunity, and then health care, both mental and physical. We have eight case studies of foundations in the region, how their money was createdm" Ponce explained.

Ponce added the report should leave people not just knowing that big systems of oppression impact and harm people of color, but should cause people to start taking measurable actions and fix the disparities and make ties from the eight stories to their reality.

A new report finds some Missouri laws and prospective laws are perceived as discriminatory regardless of their actual intent - and it outlines some big, negative economic implications for the state.

When events are scheduled in places with policies that are considered non-inclusive or discriminatory, that place is often assumed to support these initiatives.

Dr. M. Ray Perryman, founder and CEO of The Perryman Group, who conducted the independent analysis, said some potential visitors will choose to go elsewhere rather than support places they think are less open to diversity and equity. He said this avoidance risks millions for the Missouri economy.

"Travel and tourism losses in Missouri and Kansas could total hundreds of millions of dollars per year," he said, "with an associated loss in revenue to the states and local governments."

Measures now under consideration include Senate Bill 1314, which would limit state funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and SB 980, which would prohibit state agencies from doing business with companies unless they'd agree not to be part of economic boycotts. With these types of policies, the Perryman research says, the state would risk losing nearly $2.6 billion in annual income and almost 24,000 jobs by 2030.

Perryman also pointed out that controversial public policies are discouraging to skilled workers seeking long-term employment and young workers as they consider where to begin their careers. He said it also plays a role for organizations in Missouri that are concerned about retaining employees.

"At a time when the U.S. economy is facing major challenges and uncertainty, the competition for quality corporate locations and expansions, as well as skilled workers, is particularly intense," he said, "and anti-DEI measures can be particularly damaging for future prosperity."

The report warns of similar negative financial consequences for the state of Kansas.


get more stories like this via email