Speaker tells of human trafficking in Ohio

September 10, 2010 at 12:05a.m.

Atty. Glaros-King

By SEAN BARRON

YOUNGSTOWN

If you think that human trafficking and forced labor are confined to Eastern Europe, the Far East and other foreign regions, think again, a local attorney and political-science instructor says.

Victims of such exploitation, as well as youngsters sold in the sex trade and their perpetrators, aren’t just in foreign countries, but in many cities, towns and rural areas throughout the United States, Atty. Koula E. Glaros-King told about 100 health-care workers who attened a program Thursday at St. Elizabeth Health Center on the subject.

Sponsoring the one-hour lecture was Humility of Mary Health Partners’ diversity and special needs department.

“This is a growing industry. … It’s about to pass the industry of sell- ing drugs in volume and money made,” noted Glaros-King, whose practice includes protecting people from trafficking, finding asylum for victims and helping women who are domestic-violence victims.

Glaros-King, who also works for Northeast Ohio Legal Services and teaches at Kent State University, was unable to provide local figures on the problem, in part because traffickers and their victims tend to be highly transient.

Nevertheless, many such criminals likely pass through the area on Interstate 80, for example, while shipping people from place to place, she explained.

The attorney cited a situation near Chesterland, an affluent community in Geauga County, in which she was part of a group that tried to get housing and other assistance for several woman who worked at a massage parlor and were thought to be part of a trafficking ring.

The women were arraigned on charges related to the case, she continued.

Many law-enforcement personnel often have treated victims as criminals, arresting, for example, young girls on charges of prostitution, Glaros-King pointed out.

To that end, Ohio is one of 10 states that ranked lowest in a recent study on the strength and inclusion of statutes addressing sex and labor trafficking, training of law enforcement on the problem, providing safe harbors for victims and several other categories.

A bill to prohibit human trafficking is stalled in the Ohio Senate, she said.

Glaros-King noted that the FBI considered Toledo a major recruiting area for underage prostitution as well as a crossroads for traffickers largely because of its network of interstate highways.

The three ways someone typically gets out of enslavement are by seeking help, suffering illness and becoming worthless to the trafficker or by death, she said, adding that getting help is rare.

Glaros-King cautioned her audience to be aware of a patient suffering from chronic malnourish-ment, depression and deep fear, all of which could be signs of such abuse.

She also praised the hospital’s Spanish-outreach program, designed in part to help those with limited proficiency in English.

The problem, often referred to as modern-day slavery, was the subject of a lecture for health-care providers at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown by local attorney Khoula E. Glaros-King. Some facts and signs related to the crime, as well as where to seek help:

Each year, people in other countries — especially minors — are deceived by promises of a better life in America, only to be sold or forced into the sex trade, locked in sweat shops and made to work long hours in unsanitary and unsafe conditions with little or no pay.

Many work in restaurants, strip clubs, motels and on farms as domestic servants. Others are forced into the sex trade.

Some victims from impoverished areas are lured to the U.S. by promises of better jobs and help for their families then charged exorbitant travel fees and ensnared in the slave trade.

An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States annually.

Common signs of such abuse include unreasonable or vague explanations of injuries; being under another person’s constant control and supervision; evidence of trauma, depression and great fear; no passport or other types of documentation; and someone else answering on their behalf.

Anyone who suspects a trafficking situation is urged to contact local police. Other resources are the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Intelligence Unit tip line at 866-678-8477, www.OSPIntel@dps.state.oh.us and the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 888-3737-888.

Source: National Human Trafficking Resource Center