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Training seminar for those who deal with human trafficking victims

SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter

Published: August 29, 2014

It has been less than two years since Summit County Juvenile Court officials came into contact with the first human trafficking victim, said Hilary Finkel, a mental health social worker at the court. Since then, she said court officials have been working to put processes and programs in place to help the victims.

“I don’t think human trafficking is a new problem,” said Summit County Juvenile Court Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio. “State legislators have been working on this issue for some time and now the court is taking measures to provide support and services for these victims.”

On Sept. 5, court officials are holding a training seminar for everyone from court officers and staff and guardians ad litem to probation officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys and children service agency workers.

“Human Trafficking: Identification & Response in Juvenile Court” will address the trauma related to human trafficking, new court procedures as well as the state’s Safe Harbor law, which was enacted in 2012 and offers improved care to victims, while increasing penalties for traffickers.

“The juvenile court began exercising its human trafficking policy in the summer of 2013 at the same time that Summit County formed the Collaborative Against Human Trafficking,” said Jaime Blair, judicial attorney at the Summit County Juvenile Court. “In the fall of 2013, I asked Judge Teodosio if we could put together a diversion program and she was very receptive.

“The goal is to divert juveniles from facing charges and offer programs that will allow them to heal,” said Blair. “If they successfully complete the program, the charges against them will be immediately expunged.”

Currently Blair is working with Finkel to put together services that include trauma-informed therapy, substance abuse counseling as well as other offerings that are still in the planning stages.

“Trauma-informed therapy focuses on how best to engage the victims,” said Finkel. “Unless these victims are able to come to terms with the underlying trauma in their lives it will be very difficult for them to move beyond that point. We try and treat the whole person to help them become productive individuals. This takes a lot of patience on the part of the providers because this population is known to have frequent relapses.”

In January 2014, Ohio Gov. John Kasich kicked off a new public awareness campaign designed to stop human trafficking in the state, which he said enslaves about 1,000 Ohioans each year, with the perpetrators using the victims for prostitution or forced labor.

Led by the Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, the campaign encourages residents to report suspicious activities and tries to connect with the victims by putting outreach materials in public transit sites and highway rest areas.

A report by the Ohio Attorney General’s office found that age 13 is when most young people in Ohio become child sex trafficking victims.

“I think the tendency is for people to think that human trafficking mainly affects men, women and children brought to the United States from another country,” said Judge Tucci Teodosio. “That is not true. It involves our sons and daughters and it happens right here in Summit County.”

“All you need are three ingredients, a vulnerable young person, someone interested in exploiting and a demand,” said Blair. “Statistics have shown that 1 in 3 runaways are approached by a trafficker within 48 hours.”

“One of the driving forces for trafficking in Ohio is Toledo,” said Judge Tucci Teodosio, noting the city’s easy access to Canada. “The problem in Toledo brought the issue to the forefront in the state.”

Toledo attorney Megan Mattimoe, who was instrumental in drafting the Safe Harbor legislation, and Certified Trauma Specialist Mary Vicario will be among those speaking at the September seminar along with Nikki Trautman Baszynski, outgoing greif fellow in juvenile human trafficking at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

Trautman Baszynski said defense attorneys must be trained to address the safety concerns of the victims, who may fear continued violence from their abusers.

Despite the inhumane treatment, she said it could sometimes be difficult to separate the victim from the trafficker because of the preexisting bond between the two, which is what happens in the Stockholm syndrome, where hostages express empathy/sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors.

“I am thrilled other juvenile courts are taking the initiative to really address the issue of human trafficking,” she said. “I see momentum growing across Ohio to not just implement these laws but also shift the paradigm so that we are no longer blaming victims for their abuse and exploitation, but instead working to help them overcome it.”

So far, all but one of the trafficking victims identified by those in the Summit County Juvenile Court system have been female.

“I am not sure why that is,” said Finkel. “It may be more difficult for males to admit they are being taken advantage of. We are keeping our eyes open to make sure we can identify victims of both sexes.”

Registration for the human trafficking training seminar is open until Sept. 3. The event is free and gets underway at 8 a.m. on Sept. 5 and runs until 12:30 p.m. at Summit County Juvenile Court at 650 Dan St.

The session has been approved for 3.75 CLE (continuing legal education) credits and 4 CEUs (continuing education units) for counselors and social workers.

To register go to https://HumanTraffickingSCJC.eventbrite.com


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