State Representative Teresa Fedor of the 45th Ohio House District presents the 5th Annual Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the Ohio Statehouse Atrium on January 9, 2014.
Each year in Ohio, more than 1,000 children are trafficked in the sex trade and over 3,000 youth are at risk of becoming victims. In March 2012, Governor Kasich established the Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, which spearheads efforts to raise awareness of this issue, educate Ohioans on how to prevent the crime, and identify opportunities to assist victims of human trafficking. In June 2012, the passage of House Bill 262 raised penalties on human traffickers and put protections in place for human trafficking victims.
Speakers: Teresa Fedor - Ohio State Representative Rob Portman - U.S. Senator from Ohio Elizabeth Ranade-Janis - Ohio Anti-Trafficking Coordiator Melinda Sykes-Haggerty - Director of Children's Initiatives for Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine Stephanie Singer - V.P. of Global Data Center Facilities & Service Continuity Management, Reed Elsevier John Pepper, Jr. - Former CEO of Proctor & Gamble, Founding Counselor for the Global Business Coalition Against Human Trafficking (gBCAT) Luke Blocher - Director of National Strategic Initiatives, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Vern Smith & Nick Lembo - The Defenders USA/Shared Hope International Theresa Flores - human trafficking survivor, author, and founder of SOAP (Save our Adolescents from Prostitution)
Reach the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text to BeFree (233733).