End Human Trafficking in Ohio

If you are a victim of trafficking, or if you have witnessed what appears to be human trafficking, call the Ohio Human Trafficking Hotline at 844-END-OHHT (844-363-6448).

Vivek Ramaswamy will sign the Human Trafficking Prevention Act, which will increase the minimum sentence for human traffickers from a range of 10 to 15 years, to a minimum of 15, with enhanced penalties when the victim is under 18 or developmentally disabled.

Soliciting prostitution, a crime that frequently victimizes trafficked individuals, is currently a first-degree misdemeanor in Ohio. Some states, like Texas, have elevated this crime to felony status. Vivek Ramaswamy will target solicitation venues that are commonly used by sex traffickers, such as online ads, at a motel, or through an illicit massage front, to be elevated to felony status.

Current Ohio law does not affirmatively protect victims of human trafficking who are coerced into prostitution. Vivek Ramaswamy will work to strengthen existing programs for diversion and to vacate convictions for trafficking victims while creating an affirmative defense for them to avoid costly and psychologically-taxing prosecutions.

Vivek Ramaswamy will sign legislation to improve training for teachers and social service caseworkers, such as those employed by local children services agencies, to identify the risk factors and signs of human trafficking.

Theresa Flores' Story

Theresa Flores was a 15-year-old girl living in a Detroit, Michigan neighborhood when she was drugged and raped by a fellow student. Her rapist then blackmailed Theresa for two years as she was forced into prostitution. During that time, she suffered repeated beatings, psychological torture, and other forms of humiliation to maintain her compliance, which only ended after her parents moved the family away from Detroit.

Theresa kept her story to herself for years. She became a licensed social worker with a master's degree in education. After telling her story, she has emerged as one of Ohio's - and the nation’s - leading voices against human trafficking through numerous media appearances, a TEDx speech, and by establishing a nonprofit organization, the SOAP Project. Theresa is a bestselling author, has received a “Courage Award” from the state of Ohio, and has a law named after her in Michigan.

Vivek Ramaswamy and City of Dreams

Vivek Ramaswamy was humbled to lend his voice as an executive producer for the film City of Dreams, which is inspired by true stories of human trafficking victims. The movie, which had a theatrical release on August 30, 2024, served as a moral intervention into the national conversation around trafficking, particularly by emphasizing the all-too-often overlooked reality of child labor trafficking and modern-day child slavery in the United States.

In addition to his role as executive producer of the film, Vivek contributed to the film’s promotion, saying “there's always problems on the other side of the world but it's different when you have a moral obligation to actually fix something that's staring you in the face.”

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