Human trafficking happens in our backyard

<p>(Ohio News Connection) - Modern-day slavery exists in the form of human trafficking, and Ohio is among the top states with <a href="https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Reports/Human-Trafficking-Commission-Annual-Reports/2020-Human-Trafficking-Annual-Report" target="_blank">high rates</a> of the crime.<br> <br> Traffickers use force or fraud to compel both children and adults to provide commercial labor or sexual services.<br> <br> Rosa Beltre, president and CEO of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, explained five major highways with easy access to Canada and the Midwest position Ohio as a hub for human trafficking. She noted the state is also vulnerable because it has both large urban centers and rural areas, as well as a large immigrant population.<br> <br> "It does happen in our backyard," Beltre emphasized. "We can all help by being in-tune, looking at the signs of physical abuse, of fear. They can also only be empathetic, and just being intentional about being catalysts of change."<br> <br> Beltre works with the <a href="https://humantrafficking.ohio.gov/" target="_blank">Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force</a>, a collaboration of 14 state agencies working to prevent exploitation, support survivors and ensure offenders are brought to justice.<br> <br> Today is <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/wearblueday" target="_blank">National Human Trafficking Awareness Day</a>, and Beltre encouraged Ohioans to wear blue to support the cause.<br> <br> According to the Ohio Attorney General's Office, in 2020 there were 148 total potential victims of sex trafficking and 94 potential traffickers. Beltre stressed it is a myth all cases involve kidnapping or physical force, since many offenders use psychological manipulation to trick or groom the victim.<br> <br> "It is not always the white van that is circling around the neighborhood that is abducting people from their homes," Beltre pointed out. "Sometimes we are so focused on the wrong things that we miss the things that are real and are occurring."<