March 11th will mark exactly 2 months since Ohio observed Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
It will mark 1 month since Ohio Attorney General Cordray’s Trafficking in Person Study Commission published the Report on the Prevalence of Human Trafficking in Ohio, the first study of its kind.
March 11th is the day we will keep the issue of human trafficking fresh in the minds of our politicians, by sending them an email blast to ensure they know we’re still paying attention!
On March 2nd, 26 of 33 senators stepped up alongside Sen. Fedor to sponsor S.B. 235.
S.B. 235 will allow Ohio to join the other 43 states that have made human trafficking a stand-alone felony under their state laws; it’s time for Ohio to address it’s rampant human trafficking problem by empowering local law enforcement with a state law instead of continually pushing these cases onto the FBI, scrambling to find some other crime to prosecute traffickers under, or ignoring these cases entirely.
As S.B. 235 enters the Criminal Justice Committee of the Ohio Senate, it enters a critical stage in the editing and amendment process. Encourage your senators to continue supporting the bill by keeping it strong and comprehensive! You can find your legislator here: http://www.ohiosenate.gov. Once you find their contact information you can use the email template below.
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Today is International Women’s Day! There are many great ways to empower women around the world and shopping at Stop Traffick Fashion is one of them. Our products are made by survivors of human trafficking and enable them to earn a sustainable income in order to support themselves and their families. In addition to the financial benefit, the accompanying work and sense of accomplishment give the women a new sense of dignity and confidence!
We also came across this great note from World Vision about how a former sponsored girl in their program is now tutoring children in the slums of India. It’s all because someone sponsored her that she was able to accomplish what she has and move on to help others! Sponsoring a young girl can change her life and cause a ripple effect for years to come. Sponsor a child today.
What are some other ways you can empower women? We’d love to hear them! Please leave some comments and let us know your ideas. Remember, a small step can lead to big change!
PRESS RELEASE
From Senator Teresa Fedor
11th Senate District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ursula Barrera
March 2, 2010 (614) 466-5204
Bipartisan Bill Will Make Human Trafficking a Felony Offense
Senators Fedor and Grendell Partner to Fight Problem
ColumbuS – Senator Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) and Senator Tim Grendell (R-Chesterland) jointly introduced Senate Bill 235 today creating a second-degree felony for human trafficking in the State of Ohio. Ohio is one of only seven states lacking felony-level language for human trafficking in-line with federal standards. A bi-partisan group of twenty-six senators have co-sponsored the legislation.
“Ohio needs legislation that will attack human trafficking criminal enterprises and put them away for a very long time,” said Senator Fedor. “Children are trafficked within Ohio’s borders every year because the traffickers know our laws are weak. It is about time Ohio joined the 43 other states with human trafficking laws on the books and let traffickers know – our children are not for sale.”
The bill comes on the heels of a report by the Ohio Trafficking in Persons Study Commission, of which Senator Fedor is vice-chairwoman. The report found that over one thousand children are trafficked in Ohio each year, while several thousand more are considered to be at risk.
“Ohio’s Criminal Justice system needs a new tool to fight the growing travesty of human trafficking in our great State. We can not sit by while hundreds of people are victimized every year by what equates to modern day slavery,” said Senator Grendell, the joint sponsor who chairs the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.
Access the legislation here: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=128_SB_235
Demi Moore has won the Pepsi Refresh Challenge! Thanks to all of her fan votes, Demi won a $250,000 grant for GEMS (Girls Education and Mentoring Services). GEMS is an organization based in New York designed to empower young women in America who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation. GEMS will use the money to train 10 survivors as outreach workers to serve in their communities. Congratulations to Demi and GEMS! You can also check out Demi & Ashton’s new anti-trafficking organization The DNA Foundation.
Also, if you are free this Thursday night you should plan to find your local theater that is showing Half The Sky Live. It’s a one night movie event based on the book, Half the Sky, by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Join the movement, celebrate International Women’s Day and be inspired to help women around the world turn oppression into opportunity!
We’ve been writing a lot about trafficking in the US and in Ohio lately. If you want to read another perspective, read this interview with the author of the new book The Slave Across the Street, Theresa Flores. Theresa is an activist and is also a Director for Gracehaven House in Ohio, one of the few shelters for survivors in America.
At last we are announcing the details of our T-shirt Launch and Benefit Concert! The event will happen on Friday, March 19th at Rohs Street Cafe in Clifton. This will be the first time our four T-shirts are available to purchase. If you don’t remember, they are fair trade, organic cotton T-shirts made by survivors of the sex trade in Kolkata, India. In addition to shopping from Stop Traffick Fashion there will be great music and art to entertain you.
Music will be provided by:
ARTISTS & AUTHORS
FLAREGUN
and LAURA HELLEBUSCH
Plus, there will be a live painting done by Arian & Daniel Armstrong! Arian is the artist who designed 2 of our fabulous T-shirts, in addition to the winning design submitted by Alicia Gee.
There is a $5 suggested donation which will go to Hagar International. Hagar is a leading provider of aftercare and rehabilitation for survivors of human trafficking and other human rights abuse in Cambodia, Vietnam and Afghanistan. Raffle tickets will also be for sale to benefit Hagar and a portion of proceeds from any merchandise sales will also be donated.
We hope you can join us to show your support for Hagar, survivors of human trafficking around the world, and Stop Traffick Fashion!
If you have a few minutes please listen to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that occurred today. The hearing titled, “In Our Own Backyard: Child Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in the United States,” included testimony from Ambassador-At-Large Luis CdeBaca, Rachel Lloyd (founder of GEMS) and a survivor of trafficking in the US.
If you’re interested in finding out more (and you’re in the Cincinnati area) you can also check out the free screening of Playground, a documentary on child trafficking in America, on March 11th. All of this hits close to home in light of the recent study we posted earlier this month about trafficking in Ohio.
A group in South Africa has recently released a PSA to raise awareness about the escalation of human trafficking during the 2010 World Cup coming up this summer. You can check out the video here. The Salvation Army has also started a new trafficking helpline. South Africa still doesn’t have any laws against trafficking. Hopefully they will pass some before the World Cup so they don’t risk the dreaded “F” that Vancouver got for their lack of preparation for trafficking during the Olympics.
On a personal note, I used to live in London for a few years and this video reminds me of all my South African friends! I particularly enjoyed the reference to “robots.” In case you don’t know what those are, they are traffic lights!
On Thursday, March 11th the Freedom Center in Cincinnati is hosting a free screening of the documentary Playground. The movie is an undercover look at the child sex trafficking industry. Filmmaker Libby Spears initially started looking into trafficking in Cambodia and the Philippines, only to realize that the problem happens in America as well. Co-produced by George Clooney, Steven Soderbergh and Grant Heslov, Playground has received enthusiastic acclaim for its unforgettable examination of a subject that most people would prefer not to even mention. The screening starts at 6pm. You can get the full details here.
Plus, on the night of the screening Stop Traffick Fashion will be at the museum with our products for sale! Come and see us, along with the powerful documentary Playground.
You’ve probably seen some TED videos on You Tube or on their website. Right now leaders from around the world are together speaking on various topics. One of those speakers in Kevin Bales, a well known author and activist in the field of human trafficking. I hope they will post a video of his presentation. For now, I’ll post some interesting live tweets* from @TEDNews that were tweeted during Kevin Bales’ presentation.
Kevin Bales: People do not enslave people to be mean to them. They do it to make a profit.
Kevin Bales: Researched in 5 countries, interviewed slaves and slave holders. Estimates 27 million slaves today.
Kevin Bales: There are only two countries on earth where we can’t find slavery: Iceland and Greenland.
Kevin Bales: Slaves are often used to do environmentally damaging work. There’s a link between environment loss and human rights loss.
Kevin Bales: Slavery has been around forever. But what is new: The price for slaves has collapsed. Humans are cheaper than ever.
Kevin Bales: You can’t just buy people out of slavery. It’s not an event, it’s a process.
Kevin Bales: What does sustainable freedom cost? In the US, about $30,000 per person. In Ghana, $400.
Kevin Bales: $10.8 billion to free all slaves — the same amount we spent last year on game equipment. Not a lot of $ on global level.
Kevin Bales: Ask ourselves: Are we willing to live in a world of slavery?
More on Kevin Bales:
*Twitter is a great tool for getting lots of timely news on various topics, including human trafficking! Follow us @stoptrffckfash.
