Human_trafficking_in_Ohio
Human trafficking in Ohio is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, and forced labor as it occurs in the state of Ohio, and it is widely recognized as a modern-day form of slavery. It includes "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power, forced intake of drugs, or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."[1]
Ohio is particularly vulnerable to human trafficking because it has both large urban centers and rural counties and a large transient and immigrant population, as well as five major highways with easy access to other states and Canada.[2] 24 out of 88 counties have no human-trafficking training or access to victim services.[3] A recent study estimated that between 2014-2016, 1,032 Ohio youth and young adults were victims of human trafficking.[4] The National Human Trafficking Resource Center reported receiving 1,066 calls and emails in 2015 about human trafficking in Ohio.[5]