Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person to provide labor, services, or commercial sex against that person's will. It is a form of modern-day
slavery, and it affects both foreign nationals and American citizens. Although human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, it remains largely in the
shadows across the U.S. The U. S. State Dept. estimates that between 600,00 and 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders every year. A recent study by the Ohio Attorney General's Trafficking in Persons Research Commission estimates that over one thousand children are trafficked in Ohio each year. The Catholic Conference of Ohio supports SB 235 and HB 493 that specifically prohibits human trafficking within Ohio law. Human trafficking is a horrific crime against the basic rights and dignity of the human person. Ohio is one of only seven states without a specific felony offense of human trafficking. Creating a new felony offense of human trafficking in Ohio means prosecutors will no longer have to stitch together other crimes, which often carry lighter sentences, in order to stop human traffickers from harming vulnerable people in Ohio. The Catholic Church and U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops support efforts to eliminate the root causes and markets that permit traffickers to flourish; to make whole the survivors of the crime, and to ensure that one day trafficking in human persons vanishes from the face of the earth. You can help by contacting your State Senators and Representatives and asking them to supports SB 235 and HB 493. You can find contact information at www.legislature.state.oh.us or call 1-800-282-0253. More information about this issue can be found at www.ohiocathconf.org and www.usccb.org.
slavery, and it affects both foreign nationals and American citizens. Although human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, it remains largely in theshadows across the U.S. The U. S. State Dept. estimates that between 600,00 and 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders every year. A recent study by the Ohio Attorney General's Trafficking in Persons Research Commission estimates that over one thousand children are trafficked in Ohio each year. The Catholic Conference of Ohio supports SB 235 and HB 493 that specifically prohibits human trafficking within Ohio law. Human trafficking is a horrific crime against the basic rights and dignity of the human person. Ohio is one of only seven states without a specific felony offense of human trafficking. Creating a new felony offense of human trafficking in Ohio means prosecutors will no longer have to stitch together other crimes, which often carry lighter sentences, in order to stop human traffickers from harming vulnerable people in Ohio. The Catholic Church and U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops support efforts to eliminate the root causes and markets that permit traffickers to flourish; to make whole the survivors of the crime, and to ensure that one day trafficking in human persons vanishes from the face of the earth. You can help by contacting your State Senators and Representatives and asking them to supports SB 235 and HB 493. You can find contact information at www.legislature.state.oh.us or call 1-800-282-0253. More information about this issue can be found at www.ohiocathconf.org and www.usccb.org.
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