Helping victims of prostitution and trafficking: It takes a community...

Author: Williamson, Celia & Baker, Lynda

Abstract: Child sex trafficking and adult women involved in street-based prostitution are two problems affecting the city of Toledo, Ohio. While various agencies worked independently to address these problems, there was no collaborative effort. We decided to organize a year-long roundtable that included people from Toledo-based social service, criminal justice, and health care systems, as well as concerned citizens, church groups, and survivors of prostitution. Our intent was to develop responses that were specific and sensitive not only to the needs of prostituted women and trafficked teens, but also to service providers and members of the community. In this article, we report on our project, its accomplishments, and lessons learned.

Keywords: child trafficking, prostitution, human trafficking, sex work groupwork, community practice