Human
trafficking in Ohio and Wayne County will be the topic of a discussion sponsored
by the League of Women Voters of Wayne County. The free
event will take place Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Crown Room at the Wooster Best
Western Hotel and Conference Center, 243 E. Liberty St., Wooster. No
reservations are required.
Mary Sue Kaliszewski, vice president and programming
co-chair for the Wayne County chapter of the LWV, said while the organization
is best known for its activities and advocacy regarding voting, voter
registration, voter education and voter rights, they also educate
on positions that are integral to the public’s informed voting.
“Human trafficking is one of the League’s social policy
positions,” Kaliszewski said.
The LWV actively supports legislation
to stop human-forced labor and sex trafficking, advocacy for provisions of
services for adult and child victims, and aggressive law-enforcement activities
that should include cooperation among agencies, strategies to reduce demand,
training and necessary funding.
“Education on human trafficking is timely for many
reasons including its connection to many of the immigration issues that fill
the news media today,” Kaliszewski said. “In addition, budget discussions at
state and national levels impact funding for law enforcement around this topic
as well as the availability of services for assisting victims of trafficking.”
There will be two speakers at the event. Joe Morbitzer recently retired from the Ohio Attorney General's Office, where he was the superintendent
of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification for six
years. Prior to that, he was the chief of police for Westerville for 12 years.
Gayle Byrne is a response coordinator and victim advocate
at OneEighty, an area nonprofit organization that assists victims of human trafficking, among others.
Morbitzer will share statistics on human trafficking
across the state of Ohio and offer insight into law-enforcement activities the state and partner organizations undertake to address human
trafficking. He also will shed some light on the involvement of organized
crime groups and what is happening in rural Ohio.
Byrne will bring the topic a little closer to home, discussing
the assistance OneEighty provides for local victims of human trafficking. The
first half of the event will be the presentations, followed by a Q-and-A.
The LWV of Wayne County, a local
chapter of the national organization, is a nonpartisan organization with the
mission of empowering voters, protecting voter rights, defending democracy and
educating voters on how their government functions. The LWV works to
encourage active and informed participation of local citizens in democracy and government.
Membership in the LWV is open to women and men age 16 and older. The LWV believes in a community of respectful engagement for people of
all backgrounds, generations, cultures and political diversity.
“It is important that residents recognize the presence (of
human trafficking) in our county as it is not just a ‘big-city problem,’” Kaliszewski
said. “We hope our presentation will educate voters, not only on the state
statistics of human trafficking, but also bring home the real impact to our
county, including learning about local organizations that help the victims.”
