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AG Yost announces statewide human-trafficking hotline at 2024 summit
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced the first-ever statewide human-trafficking hotline during his opening remarks at the office’s fifth annual Human Trafficking Summit in downtown Columbus.
“It’s simple: The more we know, the more we can do to help,” Yost said. “We need to keep pushing these efforts forward so that, every day, those who buy sex or compel another’s labor know that we’re coming for them.”
The hotline number – 844-END-OHHT (844-363-6448) – funnels incoming tips on suspected sex and labor trafficking directly to law enforcement, connecting the caller with people experienced in investigating such allegations. It is operated 24/7 by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), whose criminal intelligence analysts assess the information and refer intelligence to local law enforcement agencies, human trafficking task forces organized under the attorney general’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission and/or BCI’s Special Victims Unit.
The attorney general introduced the phone number to the 700-plus who attended the Aug. 7 summit – some of the very people who will play a vital role in its success.
“You give me hope,” Yost told the group at the Hyatt Regency Columbus. “There is strength in numbers, and you are not alone. And that means our survivors and our future survivors are also not alone.”
The summit brings together survivors, social workers, health-care professionals, law enforcement officers, lawyers, prosecutors, judges and other community stakeholders who are committed to ending sex and labor trafficking in Ohio. The summit focused on the vital role that a continuum of care — an integrated system of services and resources — plays in helping survivors achieve long-term healing on what AG Yost often calls the Highway to Hope.
The keynote speaker at this year’s summit, Marti MacGibbon, is a survivor of human trafficking — in her case, international sex trafficking. She spoke about post-traumatic growth and trauma resolution.
“Courage combined with love is unstoppable,” MacGibbon said. “When we have the courage to confront evil and we walk alongside those who have experienced evil, the power of that work is deep and unlimited.”
The 2024 summit, organized by the AG’s Human Trafficking Initiative, included 26 unique workshops with 55 presenters.
More than 1,400 people registered to attend the attorney general's second annual Human Trafficking Summit, which amounted to intense growth from the initial summit. The Jan. 14 event was held virtually due to COVID-19 concerns, and the agenda included:
- AG Yost celebrating the strides made in the human trafficking fight in 2020.
- A presentation from Nationwide Children's Hospital doctors about how trafficking affects young victims and how health-care and other systems can work together to reduce the toll.
- Fifteen workshop options with valuable information and resources, including "The Illicit Massage Industry: A Quick Look at the Chinese Supply Chain," "First Responses to Human Trafficking," "When Parents Are Pimps," "Considering a Dedicated Docket for Juvenile Human Trafficking? The Triumphant and Turbulent Tale of One Ohio Court’s Response" and "Lessons from Statewide Partnerships To Improve Outcomes for Children and Youth Victim Services."
The event was presented via the Whova app, and all summit presentations will continue to be available for three months on the web app and six months on the mobile app.
If you have questions, contact HTI@ohioattorneygeneral.gov. For technical issues with the app, contact support@whova.com.
Seven hundred people registered for the Ohio Attorney General’s inaugural Human Trafficking Summit on Jan. 9, 2020, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Speakers included Dr. Elaine Richardson, a survivor and Ohio State professor; state Sen. Teresa Fedor; and Attorney General Dave Yost. Workshops focused on labor trafficking, specialty court dockets, the story of how a nonprofit established safehouses and the importance of multidisciplinary teams in helping victims.