And the new hotbed of human trafficking is...

OHIO

Those of you who thought Ohio was all about rock n' roll, amazing chili, and a seriously unhealthy football obsession may want to think again. A new report conducted by the Trafficking in Persons Study Commission found that 1800 people are trafficked in Ohio every year. This includes 800 immigrants who are exploited in commercial sex and factory work, as well as about 1000 American-born children who are forced into prostitution. Who would have thought that Ohio would be such a hotebed of human trafficking?
But why Ohio, whose largest city, Columbus, is dwarfed by neighboring Chicago? How can a place that sounds and appears so wholesome be responsible for forcing a thousand children into sexual slavery each year? The report cites weak laws on human trafficking, a growing demand for cheap labor, and Ohio's proximity to the Canadian border as the key reasons modern-day slavery thrives in the state. I'm going to take a metaphorical highlighter to that word "demand," because that is the key to the human trafficking crisis.
Like many other places in the U.S., Ohio has a growing immigrant population, including those who have migrated legally, illegally but voluntarily, and involuntarily. Undocumented migrants are at increased risk for trafficking and exploitation, and in Ohio about 800 of them were found exploited in factories, agriculture, constriction sites, and brothels. Often, migrants are trafficked by high organized criminal networks who transport the victims into and around the U.S. They are the criminals, but it's the demand for cheap goods and food and for commercial sex that create an industry for trafficked immigrant workers.
What may be even more shocking in this study, however, is the 1000 American children who were forced into commercial sex over the course of a single year. It is shocking because it means that enough men in Ohio were willing to pay to rape a child to make trafficking that many kids profitable and worth the risk. If each of those children had sex with 5 men per night, 6 nights a week, that over 150,000 sex acts per year. Potentially, that's 150,000 men who are buying sex with trafficked children in Ohio. The report cited laws and geography as primary causes of trafficking in Ohio, but I would ask them to take a long hard look at the demand for commercial sex with children.
Ohio first made it onto the map of major trafficking destinations when a child sex trafficking ring that moved victims from truck stop to truck stop along the rust belt was busted. Most of the activity was centered in Toledo, Ohio, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Not exactly the places I would have picked in my "International Criminal Trafficking Rings" poll. But traffickers go where they can make money by selling their victims, and those places were small cities in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
If all this bad news about Ohio has depressed you, check out this video, which celebrates some of the glories of Cleveland.

Article Courtesy of: http://news.change.org/stories/the-new-hotbed-of-human-trafficking-is-ohio

Athens Mayhem

Monday evening, sitting in my room and watching Saturday Night Live, while preparing for Religious In(Queer)y. This weekend was crazy! A carnival at Baker Center, airbrush tattoos, and a late night cuddle-fest and conversation. Saturday- sleep, homework, Open Doors Casa Dance. Oh yeah, and watching my hallmate, Maggie, give my roomie a mohawk, then putting a rubber duck in my hair. Sunday- up early to attend a LeaderShape Leadership Conference and F-Word.

Don't worry, I wore my dress the whole weekend. Plain on Friday and then hot pink fishnet tights and gloves on Saturday. It was epic. Fishnets and a SuperDuck in my hair- I was the belle of the ball ;~) I've got photos to prove it...

 Maggie and I before Casa on Saturday

My roomie, Sara, and I at the Baker Carnival on Friday

And Sara's awesome Mohawk, that is surprising still in 3 days later

JAC and Me

The week has been Trans World Awareness Week, which has had me quite busy. JAC Stringer, the Midwest GenderQueer, has graced OU with this presence since Wednesday. It was a great experience and JAC is featured in my picture from yesterday. He was trying to highlight the dress, which unfortunately makes me look pregnant from this angle...

There were great conversations, discussions, and interactions. I was encouraged by the amount of people that came to the events. Hopefully we've been able to open up the eyes of people at OU about the issues Trans* people face on a daily basis.

Hold On

If you don't like it, wait a minute and it will change

Welp, 5 days in and my commitment to blogging everyday is out the window. College life tends to get busy. Anyways, the past 3 days have been what I like to call "Ohio Weather." If you don't like it, wait one minute and it will change. Not the most original statement, but it still rings true. Monday was freezing. Hoodie and leggings. Apparently my leggings are not very warm. Tuesday, still cold, and I decided to wear the dress with nothing underneath but shorts. Sooo cold! Which brings us to today (even though it will technically be Thursday when I post this since it's 3 minutes to midnight). Anticipating cold, I wore jeans under my dress. But being Ohio, it was hot! Tomorrow is supposed to be just as warm as today, so maybe I'll try the shorts only thing again.

In case you didn't know, I am not the only one on campus doing One Dress, One Month. My friends Emily and Emily (yes, they're both named Emily) are doing it with me. To make it easier, we'll call one Fish and one Emily. Fish is the person that originally brought the idea of doing this project this month to me. Anyways, I ran into Emily (not Fish) at Donkey Coffee this evening and decided that would be the perfect picture for today. So, here you go- Emily and me in our dresses at Donkey...

People are starting to realize that I'm wearing the same dress everyday. People that know me always ask why I'm wearing a dress, since that's so unlike me; but those that don't know me as well are picking up on the fact that I'm wearing the same thing. That's how the conversations start. As I wrote about before, I'm not advertising what I'm doing, but am waiting for people to approach me. Considering how many people have already approached me, I'm hopeful that the word will continue to spread and people will be incited to step up and do something about human sex trafficking.

I still hate the dress, and kind of want to put it through a shredder. A dress just isn't my style and I'm not that comfortable in it. But, maybe I'll get more used to it as the month progresses. And I just need to keep in mind why I am doing this and give my doubts and insecurities about it all to God.

And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily…” Luke 18:7-8

Day 2: Perspective

Day 2 down. A lazy Sunday. I must say, I rather enjoy lounging around my room in my dress. I don't, however, enjoy sitting on the floor for 2 hours when I can't sit "unladylike" because of my dress. Sorry F-Word Ladies (and Gents)! Next week, I call the yoga mats...

I do enjoy the support the F-Word Ladies showed for my project and their willingness to join me in my Day 2 picture in front of a giant mirror!

(1) Athens is cold and rainy. I want warm pants. My legs are cold. Leggings are nice, but thin. Tomorrow I might have to pull off some jeans and dress action, no matter how ridiculous it looks. (2) Hoodies do not work well with a dress. While wearing my hoodie, the dress kept getting pulled higher and higher, making it shorter and shorter. And making me paranoid that my butt was showing, even though I was wearing shorts underneath.

But I really don't have any room to complain. Millions of women and girls cannot go home to a safe and warm bed, snuggle under a bunch of blankets, and forget their worries. It's about perspective. That seems to be smacking me in the face today. I'm walking around campus, wishing I was wearing something warmer and cursing this dress (I know day 2 and I hate the dress) when I should be grateful I have the choice to take it off and give up this project. To shed my burden, in a way. I can go back to my dorm and do homework under my soft snuggie, shedding the troubles of an unforgiving world.

I have options millions of people don't. I have a warm bed to myself and autonomy over my life. I am free.

Day 1

Well, I've officially completed the first day. Only 30 more to go...

My little brown dress. Simple, Versatile. Comfortable. I have a feeling that I'll hate it in a week. But I only have to wear it for a month, and can take it off at night.

There are thousands of women and children who cannot (metaphorically) take off their dresses. They are trapped in a cycle of abuse and torture. Young girls, forced to sleep with 10-15 men a night. Never knowing love, trapped in their feelings of hopelessness. Stuck in their "dresses."

For me, it's only 30 more days; but for those thousands of girls, they will be stuck in this cycle indefinitely.