Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and experts said the trafficking of women, children, and men continues to be a problem in Ohio.

According to federal data, more than 2,000 people were referred to attorneys for human trafficking offenses in 2021, a 49% increase from a decade ago.

Vanessa Perkins, director of programs for Freedom a la Cart in Columbus, a nonprofit catering company employing and empowering survivors of sex trafficking, said traffickers prey on an individual's vulnerabilities.

"That can be housing, that can be drug addiction, that can be food, that can be homelessness, it can be mental health, it can be disabilities," Perkins outlined. "There's many reasons that people are vulnerable."

She added victims of trafficking can contact crisis intervention centers, Freedom a la Cart or the Salvation Army if they do not want to go to the police.

If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 888-373-7888. The hotline said it received more than 1,000 calls from Ohio in 2021, and more than 350 of the calls were from victims or survivors of human trafficking.

Perkins pointed out it is possible to spot signs of human trafficking, including age differences between individuals traveling together, clothing seemingly inappropriate for the weather or situation, physical injuries or branding such as name tattoos on the face or chest, and a person deferring to another before speaking or giving information.

"For example, like if someone doesn't talk for themselves, if someone else is talking for them, that's like a red flag, it's an indicator," Perkins noted.

Last fall, Ohio law enforcement arrested 160 individuals involved in human trafficking, including 149 people wanting to buy sex. According to the Ohio Attorney General's Office, those arrested come from all backgrounds, including nurses, educators, retirees, former law enforcement officers, delivery drivers and others. The youngest person arrested was 17, and the oldest was 84.

Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.

More than 60% of sexual assaults are never reported to police, due to concerns like fear of retaliation or negative social interactions. But Nebraska advocates say there are resources to help with confidentiality issues.

These reminders come amid heightened concerns about threating behavior women experience online.

Katie Welsh is the vice president of programs for Omaha's Women's Center for Advancement - which works with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and stalking.

She said advocacy groups and law enforcement are learning more about the overlap between online harassment and physical abuse.

"It's kind of a new frontier in many ways," said Welsh. "While it may start where the victim and abuser are geographically separated and are communicating online, that it often leads to them meeting up so that the abuser can assert power and control."

Welsh said in its worst form, this can include sexual violence.

No matter the situation, she said anyone targeted can call the Women's Center's 24/7 crisis hotline (402-345-7273) where a confidential advocate works with the survivor ready to report what happened.

The Women's Fund of Omaha also stresses that reporting can happen anonymously, and the website sexualassaulthelp.org is another resource.

The website notes the survivor isn't required to provide any identifying information to law enforcement.

In other situations, Welsh acknowledged the challenges that sometimes come up when a survivor reports an assault or harassing behavior, and is bombarded with threatening online messages afterwards.

"Those online interactions are hard to shut off, you know," said Welsh. "They can from a lot of different sources - email, social media."

She said taking down social media profiles and changing email addresses might help ward off online harassment.

Welsh added that taking screenshots of online threats and daily notes about interactions can help when reporting them to authorities.

Sexual violence remains a significant concern in Ohio, and specialized teams, such as Sexual Assault Response Teams and Coordinated Community Response Teams, are designed to provide critical support to survivors. Now, a new study aims to assess the effectiveness of these teams and identify gaps in service.

Nicole Kass Colvin, director of coordinated community responses with the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence said this research is essential.

"We are really hoping to get some information on what teams exist and what we can do to make our teams really effective across the state of Ohio. It takes all of us to end sexual violence," she explained.

While the teams aim to provide holistic support, there is limited Ohio-specific data on their effectiveness. The survey tied to this research seeks to gather information about how these teams are structured and where they could improve. Some question whether this approach alone can address all the challenges faced by survivors without more resources.

Anna Ressler, assistant professor at Miami University is leading the research, and explained that while the teams are known to be valuable, the details of how they operate effectively are still unclear.

"There's a lot of research that shows that these teams are necessary. But we don't know what constitutes an effective team," she said.

The study's results are expected to inform improvements in services for survivors across Ohio. Those involved in these response teams, or those interested in starting one, are encouraged to participate in the survey, contributing to this important research and Ohio's ongoing efforts to address sexual violence.

In Ohio, the effects of domestic violence continue to devastate families.

The Ohio Domestic Violence Network released its ninth annual fatality report, which revealed 114 people, including 15 children, lost their lives to domestic violence in the past year, including incidents where victims were shot, strangled or beaten, often while trying to leave their abuser.

Lisa DeGeeter, senior director of policy and prevention for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, said many victims were seeking help.

"We continue to see victims, particularly parents, reach out for help to protect themselves and their children and not receive what is needed to save their lives," DeGeeter explained. "The victims were leaving, they were reporting, filing charges, requesting protection orders but it wasn't enough to stop the violence."

Despite protective measures, 72% of cases involved victims who had prior interaction with the justice system. Critics argued current resources and interventions are insufficient to prevent violence escalation, fueling debates about Ohio's legal framework for protecting survivors.

Advocates said Ohio's younger population is also deeply affected. The report showed 79 children lost a parent to domestic violence, with at least 33 children present during the fatal incidents.

Maria York, policy director for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, highlighted the profound effects on children who not only lose their caregiver but also a sense of security and normalcy.

"We don't want this to be the new normal," York urged. "After COVID, we had 131 fatalities, it seems like this is the new normal of just having these triple-digit homicides with domestic violence."

The report showed domestic violence fatalities have not returned to pre-pandemic levels and more than two-thirds of the cases involve firearms. York called on law enforcement, policymakers and community leaders to collaborate to address the issue.