Credit: Lacey Mendenhall
Sex trafficking is an issue that hits close to home for Ohio residents.
The Polaris Project named Ohio one of the prime states for human trafficking in the country due in part to the role Toledo plays in the sex industry. According to a 2007 Polaris report, the FBI labeled Toledo as one of the top hubs in the country for teen prostitution and abduction of minors. In addition, Ohio's extensive web of interstates makes it easy for traffickers to move victims across the state, the report read
Miami University is hosting its first sex trafficking awareness week from Nov. 11 to 15. The event will include an exhibition on the west patio of the Shriver Center.
The Polaris Project, an organization dedicated to stopping sex trafficking, said traffickers will target vulnerable women with histories of abuse and violence. Sex trafficking is the trading of humans for the purpose of sexual slavery. Once they trick these women into trusting them, they will use violence, threats and false promises to keep them in the sex industry. The victims can be found in brothels, escort services and strip clubs across the country. These women can be taken just as easily in small towns and neighborhoods as they can in large cities across the world.
The FBI estimates that the number of domestic and international victims of sex trafficking is close to 30 million.
Students of the Western Program 341 class and the writers of Her Campus, a student media organization specializing in college women issues, are sponsoring the week. The Western Program specializes in interdisciplinary education and students of the 341 class had to develop an action-based project similar to what occurred at Western College during Freedom Summer.
According to Western Program student junior Jacie Nowland, the event will feature a week-long exhibit on the west patio of the Shriver Center. Nowland said she is hoping to bring awareness to an issue that is more prevalent than most people realize.
"There is no other agenda other than to promote awareness of an important social issue," Nowland said.
The exhibit will feature mannequins labeled with different words for trafficking, Rowland said, and will include images of young women with messages including, "This could be your daughter or sister."
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"We really want to make it provocative, we want students to stop and take time to really look at the exhibit and understand the issue," Nowland said.
Her Campus is another organization sponsoring the week-long event. The publication is in its second year as an official organization at Miami. As a national chapter, Her Campus is one of the largest online communities for college and high school women. One of the Miami chapter editors, senior Melissa Maykut, said it is important for them to sponsor an event like this.
"We really support women's empowerment, so it's a great event to be a part of," Maykut said.
Her Campus ran an article on Nov. 3 about the exhibit, stating the importance of students understanding the "implications and horrors of sex trafficking..."
The mannequins and images will be up for the duration of the week for student viewing.
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