Trafficking victims need help, should not be arrested Media overlook that radical left wants to control our lives
Thank you for bringing attention to the human trafficking operation in the Oct. 26 Dispatch article "Human-trafficking operation leads to 80 Columbusarea arrests, over 200 in Ohio.”
As an anti-trafficking professional and former prosecutor of gender-based violence crimes in Philadelphia, I want to mention the case described in the article. It reported that “pregnant with her fourth child, the woman, who had been involved with trafficking for five years, was one of 109 women arrested and, at least temporarily, rescued from human trafficking.” Human trafficking victims shouldn't be arrested.
If these women were trafficked, they have already gone through horrible exploitation and deserve freedom, privacy and respect, similar to victims of rape and sexual assault.
If not, these arrests have created additional vulnerability for them making it difficult for them to get jobs, leases on housing, and creating additional debt through court system fees. These are vulnerabilities that traffickers will eagerly exploit.
We need to improve public policy to ensure, as a community, we support vulnerable populations while stopping traffickers. Supporting instead of arresting potential victims is a necessary step in eradicating human trafficking and creating a pathway out for survivors.
Rochelle Keyhan, chief executive officer, Collective Liberty, Washington, D.C.
The news media cried the night that Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton night and ever since. Now they have a twinkle in their eye. The economy is bad because of the COVID-19 virus, lost jobs and people dying and it makes President Trump look bad. They say, “How do you like him now?”
There was a daytime television show where someone gave every one something good. If you vote for Joe Biden and the radical left, you will get something bad. You will lose your freedom. They want to control every aspect of our lives. Don't people understand what is going on?
So what if there is no organized antifa, Mr. Biden? How are you going to protect us from them? Why, Mr. Biden, is it OK for the government to run reeducation programs? Under Biden, will all the people be free?
It is like this: President Trump wants to help us and the USA get better, like this country has been doing from the beginning. The left wants to run our lives.
They say the suburban women and the college-educated women are not going to vote for President Trump because of his character. Whom are you going to vote for? What is more important: freedom or character?
R. Wayne Mcdonald, Pataskala