Promoting education and rallying support for state legislation on human trafficking are top priorities for members of the Stop Trafficking of Persons committee this year.

In September, members of the group founded by women religious of the Diocese of Toledo met with State Sen. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) to discuss the need for legislation and the specifics of Senate Bill 205, which she is sponsoring. The bill is one of three proposed pieces of legislation to crack down on human trafficking in Ohio, which currently lacks anti-trafficking criminal provisions.

In a phone interview with the Catholic Chronicle, Sen. Fedor said Ohio has been identified as “a gateway for human trafficking nationally and internationally” because of its geographic location near the Great Lakes and Canada and easy access to I-75 and I-80/90.

“The root of the problem is that most people don’t know that human trafficking is going on,” explained Sen. Fedor. “It operates in the shadows — something that really fuels an organized crime syndicate.”

Thirty-eight other states have passed legislation to complement the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and Sen. Fedor believes it is possible — and imperative — for Ohio to pass similar legislation this year to give law enforcement, service providers and justice officials the state tools to identify and prosecute human trafficking.

“We can’t waste a day, because it’s affecting our children,” she said.

Senate Bill 205 defines human trafficking in persons and creates two new criminal violations based on that definition. It would support law enforcement training and a public awareness campaign, and it would create a task force to study the problem and ask the Attorney General’s office to compile statistical data on human trafficking.

The bill would also provide restitution to victims of trafficking, using assets forfeited by those who are convicted and charged. Such restitution could provide victims with counseling and help them relocate to a safe place, which Sen. Fedor said would especially serve minors “because we just don’t have places for them to go.”

Victims must be removed from juvenile detention facilities, she added, since those are a prime location for recruitment into sex trafficking.

Sen. Fedor said supporters of the legislation should contact Sen. Timothy Grendell, chair of the Senate Judiciary – Criminal Justice Committee, and Ohio Senate President Bill Harris.

Other proposed legislation to address trafficking in Ohio includes S.B. 23, which was introduced by Sen. David Goodman (R-Columbus) before S.B. 205, and House Bill 15, introduced by State Rep. Kathleen Chandler (D-Kent).

Tiffin Franciscan Sister Mary Kuhlman, chair of STOP, says the group will mobilize support to pass state legislation on trafficking this year. Education is an important piece of their effort.

STOP hosted a program Oct. 2 to train speakers to present the topic of human trafficking in their communities. The speaker’s bureau will be available to parishes, schools and other organizations.

The group is also sponsoring a public presentation on the topic of human trafficking in November, on a date yet to be determined.

The Sisters of Notre Dame, Ursuline Sisters, Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania and Sisters of St. Francis of Tiffin took a joint corporate stance against human trafficking during an ecumenical prayer service in Toledo in August. At that time they invited those in attendance to join STOP, to write to their legislators and to pray for an end to human trafficking.

Sr. Kuhlman says STOP membership will be expanding this fall.