Union Institute aims to educate public about human trafficking in our own backyards

Last month, Union Institute & University Professor Eric Higgins and Enrollment Counselor Sarah Kolks presented “From Victim to Offender: The Response to Human Trafficking in Probation and Parole” at the American Probation and Parole Association’s 40th Anniversary Training Institute in Los Angeles.
 
As subject matter experts, Higgins and Kolks are certainly knowledgeable about the issue of human trafficking, but they’re also passionate about getting word out — not just nationally but also locally.
 
“When the majority of people think about human trafficking, it is what they see from mainstream media like the scenario in the movie Taken, where a young woman gets kidnapped, drugged, taken to a faraway place and put on display for wealthy men to bid on,” says Higgins, who also serves as a detective in the Covington Police Department.  “But the grim reality is human trafficking is happening everywhere.”
 
According to Higgins, sex trafficking is an estimated $87 million a day business, and 3,000 youth from Ohio and Northern Kentucky are at risk of being exploited each year.
 
“It is happening everywhere. These victims are afraid to speak to us,” Higgins says. “They don’t want to approach law enforcement or someone who the rest of the community believes would be able to help them. They’ve been conditioned to believe that we are the bad guys and we are only going to throw them in jail. They’re also afraid that their trafficker will kill them or maybe their family.”
 
Victims typically begin getting trafficked between the ages of 11 and 13, Higgins says, and while the victims are mostly women, it happens to young boys and men as well.  
 
“Education is key,” Higgins says. “Community members, criminal justice agencies, and public policy makers should never be afraid to ask the important questions and address cultural and peer pressures that might influence the acceptance of treating our women and children as a commodity.” 

Do Good: 

• Call the Greater Cincinnati Human Trafficking Hotline at 513-800-1863 to report a situation, connect with referrals or if you’re in need of crisis intervention. If you are outside of the immediate area, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 888-373-7888. 

• Pay attention to your surroundings and learn to recognize the behavior of victims: anxiousness, lack of eye contact, etc. Educate yourself further about the issue by visiting the End Slavery Cincinnati website for resources. 

• Connect with End Slavery Cincinnati on Twitter and Facebook for important updates and resources.