Gov. John Kasich reaffirmed the state’s commitment to battle human trafficking Thursday, urging Ohioans to take a stand at the local level to battle the problem.
Kasich, speaking at a gathering for Ohio Human Trafficking Awareness Day, said states around the country are admiring Ohio’s progress toward combatting human trafficking, but that more must be done.
“We’re in a pretty good place, but we’re not going to rest until we wipe out this terrible scourge and this terrible crime,” he said.
He urged Ohioans as individuals to take a stand and make the issue one that entire communities can rally to address.
“What you represent in this effort is the sense and the calling that you are going to take matters in your hands to make a difference,” he told the group of about 200, which included social advocates; law enforcement officials; prosecutors, judges and other court officials; and survivors of human trafficking.
“We need to get our friends and our neighbors — you know, when you have the family dinner, when you go to the school, when you’re in the gym, when you’re with your friends having a cup of coffee. Tell them what you’re doing,” Kasich said. “Tell them that you have decided to take a stand in our society, that you have taken a stand in our culture to make a difference.”
Kasich praised efforts by state Rep. Teresa Fedor, a Democrat from Toledo who has spearheaded legislative efforts to address human trafficking as an issue.
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