A new report from a nonprofit group says the human trafficking is on the rise nationally and in Ohio. Statehouse correspondent Jo Ingles talked to a state lawmaker who’s worked on the issue.
The Polaris Project says 375 trafficking cases from Ohio were reported to a national hotline last year. That’s a 23 percent increase over the year before. Democratic Rep. Teresa Fedor, who has worked to pass legislation to crack down on the problem, says she’s not surprised.
“Now that we are really looking at it and looking at it deeply as far as recommendations to eradicate it, we are discovering how really bad it is," Fedor said.
The report shows one in four cases in Ohio involved someone under the age of 18. Fedor says she’s working on legislation that is specifically aimed at stopping human trafficking of children.
