Study Indicates Ohio is Hub of Sex & Labor Trafficking
A new report released yesterday by the Ohio Trafficking in Persons Study Commission indicates that approximately 1,800 American and immigrant children are coerced into sex-trafficking or forced labor in Ohio. Professor Celia Williamson of the University of Toledo, who led the research for the study, explained, "Ohio is not only a destination place for foreign-born trafficking victims, but it's also a recruitment place," according to CBS News.
The report indicated that state laws are a probable reason for the concentration of human trafficking in Ohio. According to the Dayton Daily News, the report said, "state laws do play a role in the decision-making of human trafficking organizations that are sophisticated and networked...Those more sophisticated trafficking rings are aware of the laws and potential risk of doing business in a particular US state." Toledo, Ohio, ranks fourth in US cities for child sex trafficking arrests, behind Miami, Portland, and Las Vegas. Sex trafficking in other states is also often linked to illegal activity in Ohio. According to the Boston Globe a child prostitution ring that was busted in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 2005 had its center of operations in Toledo.
According to the Dayton Daily News, state Senator Teresa Fedor (D) plans to introduce a bill prohibiting human and sex trafficking. Similar laws exist in 42 states. In states with no-tolerance human trafficking laws, convicted traffickers can face up to 100 years in prison. Currently, law enforcement in Ohio must attach a human trafficking specification to crimes, rather than prosecute offenders under a stand-alone trafficking law, according to the Boston Globe. Sex trafficking victims are also at risk for being arrested for prostitution, while their traffickers often do not face criminal consequences.
Media Resources: Dayton Daily News 2/11/2010; The Boston Globe 2/11/2010; CBS News 2/11/2010
6/18/2013 Supreme Court Strikes Down Proof of Citizenship Voter Requirements - On Monday, the United States Supreme Court struck down an Arizona law requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship before being allowed register to vote.
In an opinion written [PDF] by Justice Antonin Scalia, the Court ruled that the Arizona statute violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA, also known as the "Motor Voter Law") of 1993, which created a federal form that individuals can mail in to register to vote in federal elections. . . .
6/18/2013 Pakistani Women's University Bus, Hospital Bombed - A bus for a women's university in Pakistan and the hospital that treated victims from the blast were bombed on Saturday, killing 14 students and 24 others at the hospital.
The bus was transporting female students and teachers from Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University in Quetta, located in the southwestern part of Pakistan. . . .
6/18/2013 Taliban Attack In Afghan Capital As NATO Transfers Power - Yesterday, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) transferred responsibility for the country's security forces to the Afghan government after a bomb blast targeting a political official left three civilians dead in Kabul. . . .
