Holmes commissioners note Human Trafficking Awareness Month

Holmes commissioners note Human Trafficking Awareness Month
Dave Mast

OneEighty representatives Tina Zickefoose, left, victim advocate, and Jenna Smith, human trafficking and youth coordinator, attended the recent Holmes County Commissioners meeting to celebrate the commissioners’ proclaiming January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

                        

Human trafficking has become an ugly monster in today’s world, where millions of people are being exploited against their will.

As part of the awareness for this movement, Holmes County Commissioners declared January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

On Monday, Jan. 6, the Holmes County Board of Commissioners met with OneEighty representatives Tina Zickefoose, victim advocate, and Jenna Smith, human trafficking and youth coordinator, to make the declaration and help spread awareness of this ongoing struggle.

“We’re grateful for the proclamation,” Zickefoose said.

OneEighty only recently brought Smith on board to serve in her role, and Zickefoose said they were excited they were able to bring on a qualified talent who would serve in the human trafficking role specifically.

“Last year we had about 20 human trafficking victims in Wooster,” Zickefoose said. “They have a whole different set of needs than those dealing with domestic violence, so we’re grateful we have Jenna, and she is going to help us address all of that.”

Zickefoose said OneEighty has been dealing with both labor trafficking and with parents selling their children for drugs, which she said also was a form of trafficking.

The commissioner’s proclamation said human trafficking is an abuse of power and a crime against humanity that strikes at the safety, health and dignity of people worldwide. It went on to note that human trafficking is vast and catastrophic, and its victims suffer physical, mental, emotional and psychological trauma that requires years of recovery.

According to Gayle Byrne, a response specialist and victim advocate at OneEighty, human trafficking is a horrific crime that tears at hearts of communities everywhere, in large cities and even in rural communities like Wayne and Holmes counties.

She said millions of people are forced to endure unimaginable exploitation. According to the Polaris Project, a leading nonprofit organization fighting human trafficking, an estimated 28 million individuals are currently being trafficked worldwide. These victims are subjected to forced labor, sexual exploitation or both, with devastating consequences for their physical and mental well-being.

She also said there is a misconception that human trafficking is the same as prostitution, which she noted was not the case.

According to Byrne, human trafficking is worse because with trafficking there is a third party, someone reaping the benefits while victims are coerced or manipulated into compliance.

Smith said survivors of human trafficking find their way to OneEighty seeking help. She said OneEighty is able to benefit them in many ways, noting the organization has a strong relationship with shelters and law enforcement.

“They are super-vulnerable,” Smith said of those being trafficked. “They are either often threatened or don’t have a way out.”

She said those being taken advantage of are paid very little, and often what they do earn goes directly to a third party.

Many of the individuals being trafficked are foreigners who speak little to no English, thus creating an even bigger barrier to finding a way out.

“They are absolute victims,” Zickefoose said. “When they actually do get away, there is a lot of special handling with them that is nothing like our normal clients.”

According to Smith, Ohio is currently ranked fifth in the U.S. in amount of human trafficking.

In general, traffickers exploit vulnerabilities such as poverty, foster care placement or histories of abuse. They identify young people who lack support systems and fill those gaps, initially posing as friends or benefactors.

“The average age of those being trafficked is between 12 and 14 years old and as low as 9 or 10,” Smith said.

That soon leads those being taken advantage of into a dark place that is difficult to escape.

“Ohio is starting to strengthen its laws in trafficking,” Commissioner Dave Hall said. “We are seeing it seep into rural areas, and it’s an education for all of us to develop a greater awareness.”

OneEighty’s goal is to serve survivors of sexual assault and abuse including survivors of human trafficking, with the understand that every survivor’s journey is unique, so it tailors services and resources to help them rebuild their lives.

Smith said anyone who believes they have experienced or witnessed human trafficking can call local authorities or the national human trafficking hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org/en for more information.


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